Archive for Military police

Update: Confrontation between police, army under control, says military

by admin
November 19th, 2012

The violent clashes between police and army officers that broke out Monday evening in New Cairo's Fifth Settlement have been brought under control, said military spokesperson Ahmed Mohamed Ali.

Central Military Zone Commaner Major Tawhid Tawfiq Abdel Sami, as well as the commanders of the Military Police and the commando forces, have gone to the Fifth Settlement to resolve the situation with the help of the Interior Ministry, Ali said. The zone was already secured by the military police.

Ali said the confrontation was "incidental" and that the police and the army are partners in securing the country.

The clashes were allegedly sparked by the army’s intent to avenge a military officer who had a dispute with a police officer on Saturday. The military officer claims that the policeman stopped him on the Cairo-Ismailia Road to check his driver’s license, then took him to the police station and assaulted him.

Eyewitnesses said that on Monday evening the police fired teargas canisters to disperse the army officers who came to protest the alleged assault. Assistant Interior Minister for Cairo Security Osama al-Saghir denied that any teargas was fired.

Saghir added that around 200 army officers were protesting at the police department demanding justice for their colleague. Saghir said that the Interior Ministry was coordinating with the Armed Forces to contain the crisis.

Security sources said that the leadership of the Cairo Security Directorate went to the police department in the Fifth Settlement to try to convince Armed Forces to disperse.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Human rights watchdog calls civilian investigation of military leaders positive step

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October 26th, 2012

A civilian judge’s appointment to investigate the involvement of three former military leaders in the abuse of protesters is an opportunity for redeeming accountability, said the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a statement released on Friday.

The state-run MENA news outlet reported on 15 October that Judge Tharwat Hammad was appointed by the Cairo Court of Appeals to investigate complaints filed by private citizens against former head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, former Chief of Staff Sami Anan and former head of military police Hamdy Badeen, accusing them of violence against protesters.

In the statement, HRW described its documentation of the detention and torture of hundreds of protesters between January 2011 and June 2012, the transitional period when Egypt was ruled by SCAF following the toppling of former President Hosni Mubarak.

HRW has long criticized the fact that military courts were single handedly hearing these cases, allegedly because they had jurisdiction over acts committed by military personnel.

“In the only two cases referred for trial, military prosecutors did not examine senior commanders’ responsibility, including whether they gave orders to commit abuse or failed to prevent crimes by subordinates,” the statement read.

Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at HRW, said, “Over the past year and a half, the military has been getting away with murder, torture, and sexual assault, because military investigators were unwilling to seriously investigate their own.”

“If backed by full support from the political authorities, this civilian investigation could become the first serious step toward reversing the impunity the military has enjoyed so far,” he added.

The charges against SCAF offiials included responsibiltiy for the beating of citizens and protesters on 16 December by military police, including dragging a woman down a street and stripping her to her bra, as protests broke out next to the cabinet building. Complaints were also filed against the torture of protesters in March 2011 and May 2012 in downtown Cairo and Abbasseya Square respectively.

According to HRW, only two cases of military abuse were investigated by military prosecutors, including the assault in March 2011 on women protesters in detention, an act called “virginity tests” by military leaders. The other case was of the killing of 27 mostly Coptic protesters in October 2011 when their march was violently dispersed next to the Maspero state television building.

“Neither investigation included the responsibility of any senior commanders, however … The investigations and trials in these two cases underscore the continuing failure of the military justice system to investigate those at senior level even when faced with strong evidence of crimes,” HRW said. “This is hardly surprising, because the military justice system, including the prosecutors and judges, are not independent of those they are investigating, and remain in the same chain of command.”

The possible prosecution of Tantawi and his aides has been a contentious matter, especially after President Mohamed Morsy sent them to retirement in August and appointed them as advisors, honoring them in a gesture that was largely interpreted as a safe exit.

Last week, in an unprecedented move a chief editor of a state-run daily was sacked for publishing news about Tantawi and Anan being banned from traveling. Ahmed Fahmy, president of the Supreme Press Council, fired Gamal Abdel Rahim, chief editor of Al-Gomhurriya daily, for running a story about a travel ban on the former military leaders, pending their investigations.

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Defendants in Cabinet violence case ordered released

by admin
October 20th, 2012

 

The Cairo Criminal Court has ordered the release of all defendants who were arrested after the Cabinet protests in December 2011, while keeping charges against them in place.

The defendants are accused of burning I’Institute d’Egypt, blocking traffic and attacking police and military officials.

The court also decided to summon former Interior Minister Mansour al-Essawy and former military police commander Hamdy Badeen to testify on 29 November in the same case, as well as current Republican Guard Commander Mohammad Ahmed Zaki, who served as the Paratrooper Force Commander during the events.

The Cabinet protests that took place by the end of last year resulted in the death of 20 people, including the iconic Azhar Sheikh Emad Effat who were shot on 17 December, in addition to the injury of hundreds of protesters.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Protesters gather in support of Tantawi

by admin
August 13th, 2012

Supporters of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi gathered late Sunday in front of the gates of the Ministry of Defense in the Abbasseya area in East Cairo, after he was sent into retirement along with Chief of Staff Sami Anan by President Mohamed Morsy.

Protesters chanted "Down with the supreme guide rule," referring to the supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsy hails.

In a bold move earlier on Sunday, Morsy sent Tantawi and Chief of Staff Sami Anan into retirement.

Military police surrounded the protes,t which blocked one side of the road. Some fights eventually erupted when an ambulance tried to cross through the blocked road.

"I am here to express my objection to Morsy's decision. Tantawi's right place is head of SCAF," said George Michael, an accountant participating in the protest.

Faten, a 50-year-old woman, said that she is there to protest against the rule of the Brotherhood. "I refuse to live in a place like Iran. This is an attempt to remove the last of the honorable men who fought during the October [1973] war," she said.

The Ministry of Defense has been the site of fierce clashes between military police and protesters in May, following the army's forcible clearing of an anti-SCAF sit-in.

Pro-SCAF protesters have been gathering more recently at the Unknown Soldier Memorial in Nasr City. 

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Cabinet events trial postponed until 1 October

by admin
July 29th, 2012

Cairo Criminal Court postponed the trial of 269 defendants that were charged in connection with clashes outside the Egyptian Cabinet in December holding sessions at the Police Academy on Sunday.

The court was adjourned until 1 October to listen to the prosecution and respond to the defense requests of the, in the case known as the cabinet events.

The defense requested to summon both Major General Hamdi Badeen, a leader in the military police.

Violence between demonstrators and military police last December, in front of the cabinet building broke out after a sit-in protesting Kamal al-Ganzouri appointment to prime minister. The events resulted in a numbers of deaths and injuries.

Among the charges facing the defendants are arson, destroying the Institut d'Egypte, breaking and entering, vandalism, destruction of public and private property, possession of melee weapons and Molotov cocktails, possession of illegal drugs, the practice of medicine without a license, and attempting to storm the Interior Ministry building and burning it.

Dozens of the supporters of the defendants had gathered in front of the court, against a modest deployment of police.

The list of defendants includes political activists, such as Ahmed Douma, Makram al-Swissi, Hani Atef and Tariq Shams al-Din, as well as actor Tarek al-Nahri.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Military court jails activist over Abbasseya clashes

by admin
July 27th, 2012

A military court sentenced activist Reda Mohamed to three months in prison after convicting her of attacking a military institution during the Abbasseya clashes, a rights activist said Friday.

The director of the Arab Organization for Penal Reform, Mohamed Zare, said the sentence is an example of the unfairness of military trials. He urged the rejection of the ruling against Mohamed because she was not charged in an ordinary court.

Zare said that the ruling is unreasonable, arguing that Mohamed was just there to express her opinion and claiming that violence was “not in the nature of women in general.”

He noted that Mohamed is the first female activist to be imprisoned in the Abbasseya clashes, as two other women were given suspended sentences.

Sixteen women were among those arrested by military police during the Abbasseya clashes in March. They were released within a few hours following media and political pressure.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
 

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Doctors decry hospital insecurity as Morsy orders military police to assist

by admin
July 23rd, 2012

The Doctors Syndicate is looking forward to extra security after President Mohamed Morsy last week ordered military police to secure the 100 hospitals most in need of extra protection, the organization announced at a news conference Saturday.

“All we want is to feel safe while doing our job as doctors,” said Dr. Abdel Rahman Gamal, a member of the Doctors Syndicate at the conference, which took place at Dar al-Hekma. “We look forward to having special policemen to secure hospitals, just like the tourism police.”

A group of four doctors held the conference to express the medical syndicate’s opinion on Morsy’s decision. The president said military police should coordinate with the Doctors Syndicate to determine which 100 hospitals would be secured.

Dr. Ahmed Lotfy, a member of the syndicate, began the conference by stressing that since the presidential election, securing hospitals had been the least important priority for the military, and since that time there have been many chaotic events.

“The syndicate sent the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces a letter to send their forces to secure the hospitals once more, and they replied, asking us to address the issue to the Interior Ministry, and by the time that the ministry replied, there were severe attacks on the Demerdash and the Qasr al-Aini hospitals,” Lotfy told Egypt Independent.

He said Qasr al-Aini Hospital had closed its reception as a consequence of the attacks by the families of injured people who were not happy with the quality of the service at the hospital.

Meanwhile, Abdel Fattah Rizk, general secretary of the syndicate, offered his support to any hospital that would decide to strike as a result of any attack.

“We began a sit in inside the syndicate on 15 July 2012, as we felt that there was complete negligence of our basic demands, and after two days the president decided to secure the 100 hospitals most in need for security,” said syndicate member Dr. Abdallah al-Karyouny.

The Doctors Syndicate said in a statement that wished to protect and secure hospitals not only in the short term, but as a long-term project, which necessitates the existence of police for health institutions.

The syndicate members said the main reason for the attacks was the dissatisfaction of patients’ families with the service offered in hospitals.

“The health budget is 4.7 percent of the overall state budget, but, based on global standards, the health budget should be about 15 percent of the total. This is the main reason for the dissatisfaction of the patients and their families, and I believe that this necessitates that the president and the [SCAF] act to increase this ratio,” Gamal said.

Although the news conference showed that the syndicate is not completely satisfied with the president’s decision, the general secretary had a different reaction.

“Practically speaking, I feel that this is a very wise decision. To decide to protect 100 hospitals immediately satisfies me,” Rizk told Egypt Independent. 

He said he wanted to see guards in front of hospitals, electronic gates and cameras, and supervisory personnel.

At the end of the conference, Lotfy said the syndicate had written to its branches across the country to determine which hospitals most needed the security assistance.

He said those hospitals include Demerdash in Cairo, Badrasheen in Giza, Assiut Public Hospital, Arish Public Hospital in North Sinai, and Suez Public Hospital.

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Thousand attend Suleiman’s funeral, protesters chant against Morsy

by admin
July 21st, 2012

Thousands attended the funeral of Omar Suleiman on Saturday afternoon amid a strong presence of Central Security Forces, presidential guards and military police.

Some attendees of the military funeral at Aal Rashdan Mosque in Nasr City raised their shoes and chanted against President Mohamed Morsy, a Muslim Brotherhood member, accusing him of killing Suleiman.
 
Suleiman was a longtime intelligence chief and the last vice president under former President Hosni Mubarak
 
Morsy did not attend the funeral, but sent Presidential Grand Chamberlain Major General Abdel Moemen Fouda in his place.
 
Head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, his deputy Sami Anan, and Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim attended.
 
The protesters chanted: "Oh armed forces come from Sinai, the Muslim Brotherhood are slaughtering us," and chanted in support of Tantawi and the armed forces.
 
A number of public figures also attended the funeral, including former MPs Mostafa Bakry and Mohamed Abu Hamed, Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, former Minister of Local Development Major General Mohsen al-Noamany, former editor of state-run paper Al-Ahram Osama Saraya, and Major General Hassan al-Rowainy.
 
Suleiman's body arrived at Cairo International Airport on Saturday from the Ohio in the US, where he died in hospital on Thursday, aged 76, while undergoing medical checks.
 
Suleiman, who was considered Mubarak's most trusted man, dued due to complications from amyloidosis, a disease that affects multiple organs including the heart and kidneys, the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio said in a statement on Thursday night.
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Amnesty calls for immediate release of socialist party detainees

by admin
July 14th, 2012

Amnesty International called Friday for the “immediate and unconditional release” of three Egyptian Social Democratic Party members detained by military police after taking part in a peaceful awareness event about the drafting of the new constitution.

A party official told Egypt Independent Friday that the members were detained Thursday evening after participating in a human chain organized by the Save the Constitution campaign in the east Cairo neighborhood of Nasr City.

On Thursday evening the same neighborhood witnessed a different protest outside the home of a military police leader, Hamdy Badeen, to advocate for the release of people detained by the army during the transitional period.

Al-Badil, a leftist news website, reported on Saturday that the military prosecution remanded the three activists in custody for four days pending investigation. The website said that the prosecution charged the detainees with trying to assault a public employee, thought to mean Badeen.

"The three men, all civilians, are possible prisoners of conscience and at risk of torture or other ill-treatment in detention," Amnesty said in a statement. "They are likely to face an unfair trial before a military court."

The rights group called on the Egyptian authorities to ensure that Karim al-Kanani, Mohamed Saad and Islam Amin are well treated.

It also called on the authorities to stop any investigations by the military prosecution in relation to the three activists and to release them or refer them to the ordinary civilian judiciary through the office of the Public Prosecutor.

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Liberal party says military police kidnapped 3 members

by admin
July 13th, 2012

The Egyptian Social Democratic Party said Friday that the armed forces detained Thursday three of its members who took part in a human chain organized by the Save the Constitution campaign, which seeks to spread awareness about the drafting of the new constitution.

Two different protests took place in the eastern Cairo neighborhood of Nasr City on Thursday evening. One was a Save the Constitution protest outside a mosque, while a second protest was held outside the home of a military police leader, Hamdy Badeen, to advocate for the release of people detained by the army during the transitional period.

Activists participating in the protests were attacked by people in plain clothes, according to a leader in the party, Sally Samy.

Three party members, Karim al-Kanani, Mohamed Saad and Islam Amin, were kidnapped by these unknown people, Samy told Egypt Independent.

Samy said that activists saw the three men in a vehicle belonging to military police in Nasr City, but the military refused to confirm the party members’ detention or reveal any information about them.

The party will organize a protest against the detention of it members, Samy said, especially as no information was revealed about the identity of the kidnappers. She called the detention of protesters a continuation of the military policy of restricting freedom of demonstration and expression during the transitional period.

Another party leader, Naglaa Hamdy, said that they tried to contact the missing members but their phones were shut off.

The April 6 Youth Movement, which took part in the Save the Constitution protest, said that one activist was wounded when people in civilian clothes attacked the protest.

Gaser Mahmoud, who was injured, told Egypt Independent that the protesters were attacked by people in civilian clothes, and one of them stabbed him in the thigh with a bladed weapon.

The No to Military Trials for Civilians Movement said in a recent report that, “Kidnappings of political activists from demonstrations and sit-ins have increased.”

Activists disappear for hours or days after being taken by unidentified plainclothes thugs related to security forces, the movement said in the report issued last month.  

A kidnapped person is taken somewhere for investigation and is released after being subjected to physical attacks, the movement said, adding that no official charges are made during or after detention.

The police and military deny all responsibility for the kidnappings, behaving in a manner reminiscent of state security tactics under the rule of Mubarak, the report concluded.

President Mohamed Morsy had promised to fight for the release of all detainees in military prisons during a speech he gave before thousands at Tahrir Square on 29 June. Morsy issued a decree to form a panel to review the cases of civilians detained by the military.

Activists say Morsy’s efforts fall short of stopping the military police. They have demanded that Morsy issue amnesty to all civilians convicted in military trials since January 2011.
 

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