"The public prosecution's investigation uncovered that the death of (Sabbagh) occurred after she was hit with birdshot which one of the police officers of Central Security Forces fired in the direction of her and other protesters to break up a demonstration in Talaat Harb square," the prosecutor's statement said.
The officer, who remained unidentified, is accused of an action that "led to the death of" Sabbagh – a lesser charge than murder. Lawyers said that depending on which article of the penal code is applied to him, the sentence could range from three to 10 years.
Gamal Eid, head of the Arabic Network For Human Rights Information, said the lesser charge showed "there was no political will to apply the law".
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, accused by critics of muzzling opponents, responded to the outrage over Sabbagh's killing by referring to her as "my daughter" and "the daughter of Egypt", and promised to bring her killers to justice.
Many Egyptians hoped Mubarak's ouster would lead to greater freedom, but the government has cracked down hard on Islamists and secular activists since the army ousted the country's first freely elected president, Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, in 2013.
Critics say the police, whose power waned as Mubarak fell, have made a comeback and now act with impunity, a charge the Interior Ministry denies.
The public prosecutor also on Tuesday charged 16 people, including members of the now outlawed Brotherhood, with killing and inciting violence in connection with the deaths of 19 soccer fans who clashed with security forces last month.
In another case, the prosecutor said an investigation into the death of an activist in 2013 showed he died as a result of a car accident, contradicting accounts by two security sources at the time that he was beaten unconscious in detention.
Critics say Sisi has returned Egypt to authoritarian rule under the cloak of a clampdown on militants who have killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen since Mursi's ouster.
The government denies human rights abuses and says the Brotherhood is a threat to national security. The movement says it is committed to peaceful activism.
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By Mahmoud Mourad and Yara Bayoumy. Editing by Michael Georgy and Mark Trevelyan. © Thomson Reuters 2015 http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/17/us-egypt-activist-idUSKBN0MD11K20150317