Security forces use excessive violence to thwart protests, say activists

Security forces exercised unexpected levels of violence in Cairo today in an effort to break up street demonstrations organised by opposition groups held in solidarity with reformist judges, rights groups said. “Security forces used excessive levels of violence to end the protests,” said Hafez Abu Saeda, director of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights. “Peaceful demonstrators were treated savagely.” At least 400 demonstrators were detained while protesting government pressure on judges who have made outspoken calls for judicial independence in recent months. According to Abu Saeda, hundreds of protesters from across the spectrum of the political opposition were arrested during demonstrations held in Cairo, Alexandria and in the southern city of Assiut. Additionally, dozens of protesters – also demonstrating in solidarity with the judges – were detained in Port Said, 160 km east of Cairo, on 10 April. Today’s demonstrations were timed to coincide with a disciplinary tribunal convened to decide the fates of two prominent judges, Hisham al-Bastawisi and Mahmoud al-Mekki, who stand accused of speaking against electoral violations during the 2005 parliamentary elections. The demonstrations were also called to protest the recent detention of several activists. According to a press statement from the Cairo-based Arabic Human Rights Information Network, 48 activists, detained on 24 April, had their 15-day sentences extended for another two weeks on 8 May. The statement detailed the use of “brutal” force by security forces against demonstrators and journalists at the scene. Among those detained recently was award-winning blogger Alaa Seif, who runs a website that is often critical of the government. Ultimately, the judges’ hearing was postponed until 18 May, according to an interior ministry source speaking on condition of anonymity. “It has been adjourned due to logistical and judiciary issues,” he said. Al-Bastawisi and al-Mekki, meanwhile, both of whom had decided to boycott the hearing, remain in Cairo’s Judge’s Club, where they were participating in a sit-in at the time of writing. “It seems the tribunal remains undecided over our fate,” al-Bastawisi told IRIN. “I believe it is for this reason that the tribunal was postponed.” He added that intense pressure by security forces on areas surrounding the tribunal precluded the possibility of an impartial hearing. “With such heightened pressure by the security forces, an unbiased hearing cannot possibly take place,” al-Bastawisi said. Activists, analysts and witnesses estimate that at least 10,000 security troops were deployed across Cairo in anticipation of the protests. “Between 10,000 and 15,000 members of the security forces were deployed, blocking the downtown area and the gates to Cairo University,” said Hani Anani, a leading member of secular opposition movement Kifaya, adding that scores of university professors were prevented from attending the protests. “Security personnel outnumbered protesters by 10, if not 20, times,” said Anani. In the morning, the usually busy streets of downtown Cairo were emptied of traffic as security personnel were deployed to head off the entry of potential protesters to areas around the Supreme Court, the Judges’ Club and the Journalists’ and Lawyers’ Syndicates. “Security forces did their best to make sure that no one took part in the protests,” said Anani. The majority of those arrested today were members of the banned-but-tolerated Muslim Brotherhood. According to the group’s website, at least 300 of its members were arrested during the disturbances. “They picked them up from various demonstrations,” said brotherhood spokesperson Mohamed Ali. “The scenes were shocking.” The group, arguably the most powerful opposition force in the country, has long campaigned alongside its secular counterparts to end an official state of emergency that has been maintained ever since the 1981 assassination of former President Anwar Sadat. Witnesses at the scene said that plain-clothed police arrested anyone within their grasp. “They took my son!” cried one protestor. “They pretended to be normal protestors, and then suddenly dragged my son away.” According to pan-Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera, even journalists and cameramen from major media organisations were targeted, including the reported beating of at least one. “The disproportionate savagery exercised by police was simply unethical,” said Mohamed Sayyid Said, an analyst at the semi-official Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies. “Today’s incidents have sullied Egypt’s name.” A security officer blocking entry into the area housing the Supreme Court and the syndicates, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that “there is a lot of tension in the air because of the judges”. While refusing to explain the security forces’ heavy-handed use of force, he added: “I wouldn’t go there if I were you.” Activists agree that, in recent weeks, the government has sought to implement renewed pressure on opposition movements. “Since April, there’s been a clear change in the way security forces have dealt with peaceful protests,” said Abu Saeda. “Security forces have shown more intent than ever to deliver a clear message to all those planning to oppose the government.” Rights groups say that the extension of the state of emergency on 29 April for another two years has only strengthened the hand of the security apparatus. While the government cited the 24 April triple bombing at the Red Sea resort town of Dahab, 550 km southeast of Cairo, as a justification for the extension, activists feel the unpopular emergency law has been used to target the political opposition rather than terrorists. “It’s odd that the emergency law is being used to treat protesters as though they were terrorists, and not just peaceful activists,” said Abu Saeda.