HRW urges inquiry into alleged police brutality

The international monitoring and advocacy group Human Rights Watch has demanded that President Hosni Mubarak investigate alleged police brutality during a peaceful political protest in Egypt at the weekend. “Police brutality against peaceful protestors is becoming the norm again in Egypt,” Joe Stork, deputy director of HRW’s Middle East division, said in a press release issued on Monday by the New York-based organisation. The demonstration was held on Saturday night by opposition groups protesting Mubarak’s announcement that he intends to run for a fifth term in multi-party presidential elections in September. Mubarak has ruled the country for 24 years. This is the first time direct presidential elections will be held during this time. A group of demonstrators gathered at around 6pm local time in Tahrir (Liberation) Square in central Cairo on Saturday, only to be met by security forces, according to local media and rights groups. “Authorities had saturated the square itself as well as surrounding streets with more than 1,000 uniformed security officers to prevent demonstrators from assembling,” Human Rights Watch said in its press release. Protestors were beaten and some 40 activists, including George Ishaq, one of the leaders of the Kifaya (meaning ‘Enough’) main opposition group, were arrested on Saturday. “As I was walking down Talaat Harb street, one of the branching roads from Tahrir Square, I was stopped and asked to leave the street," Ishad told IRIN. "When I refused I was arrested, along with other colleagues of mine,” he said, adding that he was detained for over two hours. Several protestors were seriously injured and had to be taken to hospital. Two were still undergoing medical treatment as a result of violence used against them during the demonstration, Ishaq said. HRW demanded that the Minister of Interior, Habib al-Adli, be included in any investigation into police brutality that may take place. “What we saw on Saturday night reflected a high-level decision not just to prevent a demonstration, but also to physically punish those daring to protest President Mubarak’s candidacy,” Stork said. Interior ministry statements said that demonstrators had provoked the security forces, forcing them to use violence. However, opposition activists insist that the demonstration was peaceful and that there was no threat of violence. “Kifaya and other opposition groups had agreed and insisted that the demonstration remain peaceful,” Ishaq said. Following the demonstration, protestors held a strike in front of the Egyptian Press Syndicate demanding the release of those who have been detained. The strike continued until 1 August when all the protestors arrested were released on bail that ranged from 100 to 500 Egyptian pounds (US $17-$86). “Police brutality will not stop us from going into the streets and expressing our opinions, as protected by our constitution and international human rights treaties ratified by Egypt,” Ishaq said. “In light of this, a protest will be held on Tuesday in Opera Square in central Cairo,” he added. This was not the first time security forces used violence to break up opposition demonstrations, observers noted. On 24 May this year many female protestors were physically attacked when protesting against a referendum on a constitutional amendment to allow competitive presidential elections in Egypt. That was believed by opposition groups to have contained many restrictions, creating new obstacles to the type of democratic system they wish to see emerge in the country.