Today, the 27th of July, 2010 marks the trial of Khaled Said's brutal assassins. Alexandria is swarming with rioters and angry cheers against police brutality. On that very same day, another police officer assaulted an Egyptian citizen and is about to get away with it.
Mohammed Maree narrated the incident on his blog and I will translate it here:
كان عبد الرحمن أشرف واقفا مع صديقة امريكية تدعى “براندى” على جبل المقطم ينظرون الى القاهرة من اعلى اذا بة يفاجأ هو وبراندى بضابط شرطة برتبة ملازم اول يدعى ” أحمد مصطفى ” امامهم , يطلب من اشرف تحقيق الشخصية مع مقدمة من السباب والشتائم فيرفض عبدالرحمن هذة الاهانات والاسلوب فى التعامل معة كمواطن لة حقوق , جعلت الضابط يتعدى علية بالضرب والركل ليحدث كدمات فى وجهة وعينية مع كسر انفة وجذبة بعنف من فروة رأسة ادت الى اقتلاعها
Abdel Rahman Ashraf was standing with an American friend named Brandy on top of Al-Mokattam watching Cairo from above. Officer Ahmed Mostafa crept up on them and insulted Abdel Rahman as he asked for his identification card.
Ashraf refused to be treated with disrespect and reminded the officer with his constitutional rights as an Egyptian citizen; hence, infuriating the officer who physically assaulted him resulting in facial lacerations, bruising around the eye socket, a broken nose, and a scalped head.
Maree continues saying:
توجهت اسرة اشرف بعدها الى قسم الشرطة فيعرض عليهم المأمور ايضا عدم تحرير محضر بالواقعة مع وعد بمعاقبة الضابط المتسبب بالاعتداء فيرفضوا ويصروا على تحرير محضر بالواقعة , ونتيجة الرفض يتم تلفيق محضر لة فى قسم المقطم بتهمة اعاقة عمل السلطات ليحول بعدها الى نيابة الخليفة كمتهم وليس كمجنى علية
In his damage control attempts, the Sheriff offered to release Abdel Rahman and sweep the whole incident under the carpet but he refused. Later on his family came and the same Sheriff offered to exchange their son's release for keeping the story off the records. He also promised to "punish" the officer who assaulted him.
Once again the family insisted on filing an official complaint and as a result, Abdel Rahman was turned from a righteous citizen and a victim of police brutality to a criminal who was charged with obstruction of official duty.
In the end
My question now is: Do we need a dead victim of police torture to forcefully demand justice and lawful prosecution of assaulting officers? Do we need another Emergency Law victim like Khaled Said?
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