131 Ad-Dostour Interviews State Security Officer
Got this translation in my e-mail inbox today. Worth reading:
Interview with a State Security Officer
El Dostour interviews state security officer ?Walid El Dessouki?Khaled El Balshi
It never occurred to me that I shall one day interview a state security officer, whose hands are stained with torture. However, what happened last Thursday during the trial of judges, put me in one place,? outside Lazoughli state security headquarters) with Walid El Dessouki, in charge of the anticommunist bureau and civil society organizations, known by the name of ?butcher of the detainees? and accused of many torture cases, some of whom are people I know and have worked with like the two colleageus Ibrahim El Sahari and Wael Taufik, in addition to student Ramez Gehad, Dr. Gamal Abdel Fattah, Farid Zahran and Gamal Eid director of the Arab network of human rights information. The paradox of the matter is that this happened on the same day when our colleague Abir el Askari was kidnapped, aggressed and sexually harassed while she was covering the events of the judges, less than two weeks after she had written a news story, supported by documents, about the horrors of Walid El Dessouki, nick named by demonstrators ?Mr. Bad?.
Suddenly, and after a lot of suffering and after I had passed several police barriers down town, leaving only one more to cross into the ?land of the enemies in the judges? club? I found myself face to face with the organizer and supervisor of the tearing down of the Egyptian flag and the owner of the black record in writing police investigation records against demonstrators. I had just crossed the Gaza and Rafah checkpoints, as we described the barriers that filled down town Cairo on that day. I had only to cross the ?Aeres? check point supervised by Walid el Dessouki and his crew of state security men. There was no other way to enter the judges club except through where he stood and with his permission, after his men refused to let me through. When I asked him to let me through he told me that it is impossible and that he has orders from above that only judges are allowed to pass. I asked him: If I ask the help of one of the judges would you let me through? He answered: If you bring Zakaria Abdel Aziz himself (chair of the judges club) I shall not let me through. He said he was doing his job. He realizes that I was doing mine, but those were the? orders.
During long hours of waiting a number of journalists who managed to cross the barriers (most of them said they worked for El Osbou to be allowed through) and myself became the entertainment which Walid El Dessouki decided to amuse himself with, like a cat playing with a trapped mouse. I decided to use the time in interviewing him.
It started when Nasser Amin, director of the center for the independence of the judiciary and legal profession came out of the judges club. When he expressed his surprise regarding the police troops in front of? the club, El Dessouki told him: I told the riot police leadership that we need two more police formations to start World War III.
I intervened: Can I consider this a press statement.He looked at me with a yellow smile and did not reply.
I asked him again, so he said: that is just like you, you Dostour people. You look for hot,? inaccurate news. You did a profile for me last week. Everything about it was not true.
El Balshi – How come. They were all complaints against you charging you of torture. If it was not true, why did you not reply?
Dessouki – Why should I reply. I just want to tell you that you have made a very famous person out of me. You will make my? seniors angry with me because I am now more famous than they are. Also the last person I arrested was Ashraf ibrahim. Ask him if I had tortured him.
El Balshi – What about Wael Taufik?
Dessouki – Who is Wael Taufik?
El Balshi – A journalist you arrested and who accused you of torturing him. And many others.
Dessouki – Look I sit in my office. If someone comes and accuses me, what do you want me to do. That is why you have to be sure of your information.
El Balshi – These are confirmed information and documented in official investigation reports and human rights releases and people see this happen every day. If it is not true, you can write a reply.
Dessouki – Why should I reply? Anyway, when you come to my office, you will see how we treat people.
El Balshi – Should I take this for a threat.
Dessouki – No man. Honor me with your visit nay time and you will see for yourself how we shall receive you.
El Balshi – What about the people who were? humiliated and pulled through the streets and detained in front of my own eyes today?
Dessouki – Was anybody detained? I don?t know. I have been standing here.
El Balshi – People were arrested here in your territory. I took photos of people here while they were beaten, while they were put in the trucks, here.
Dessouki – No man. You cannot be serious. In any case we have warned political parties that demonstrations and taking to the streets is forbidden these couple of days, because of the situation in the country. Whoever will join the demonstrations will be arrested.
El Balshi – Who is ?we??
Dessouki – We.
El Balshi – And you do not know that Abir El Askari was kidnapped today and was beaten up?
Dessouki – Incredible. I swear I do not know. (He raised his mobile phone to call somebody and then put the phone back again).
El Balshi – So you mean to tell me that you have nothing to do with it and that what happened to her had nothing to do with what she wrote about you?
Dessouki – I don?t know. I was just trying to find out, but they are not replying to the phone right now. Besides you can write whatever you want.
El Balshi – Let us go back to this police mobilization. Where were you (when the bombing happened) in Dahab and Sharm El Sheikh?
Dessouki – I told you we need only two more formations to enter world war III. Despite that, we cannot stop any bombing even if we are there. They can bomb here despite all these troops. But I feel that the press wants to exaggerate things. You too, have left Dahab and what happened there and are focusing on the demonstrations. You do not talk about those who died there and you talk about the few detainees here.
El Balshi – Whoever is doing this to people here is responsible for what is happening to people there. Furthermore, it seems that you did not read well what we wrote. I even wrote an article by the title ?El Adly? rules?.
Dessouki – I read every word you write. You even wrote my name four times in the last issue. Damn you, you Dostour people. Don?t you have anybody else except me. You will make my seniors angry with me and feel that I am more famous than they are.
El Balshi – In short you let terrorists and those who kill people such as Mamdouh? Ismail run away and then you come here and beat demonstrators. Is this how you plan to protect the country?
Dessouki – Mamdouh Ismail is not our responsibility. We execute the orders which we receive. The man left the country officially and he was not yet accused of any charges.
El Balshi – We discovered that General Ahmed Hamadi is? the same state security officer Ahmed Momtaz who arrested Ayman Noor and tortured him. I wonder is Walid El Dessouki your real name or a code name?
Dessouki – No, you will be surprised by a completely different name when I leave the service.
El Balshi – Can you let us now go to the judges club. Everything is almost? over.
Dessouki – Impossible. These are orders from high up. Nobody will pass to the judges today until they tell us
something else.El Balshi – High up, from where? Is there anybody higher than you here?
Dessouki – From high up. Very high up.
El Balshi – At Heliopolis for example, less or more?
Dessouki ? Very, very high up. I want to ask you: do you think what is happening is in the interest of the judges and has served them or has rather reduced their value and prestige in front of people?
El Balshi – Of course it has served them and everybody is sympathetic with them.
Dessouki – No. I think it degraded them and has reduced the status of a judge and people are dealing with them in an improper way.
El Balshi – It is obvious you are referring to the incident where the judge was beaten. But if you listen to what people say in public busses and microbuses, you will realize that the image of judges has improved.
Dessouki – Man. Did you see the judges riding in microbuses and going to court. I never believed I would see a judge riding a microbus or be dealt with that way.
El Balshi – It was you who closed the streets and brought those microbuses. Besides it is not important what they ride in. what matters is the cause they are defending. Also, you are standing here talking about judges while you are standing to protect rigging and corruption.
Here one of the bystanders interfered: You are corrupt and robbing the country.
Dessouki – I don?t allow you to speak like this. I have done the pilgrimage and visited? the prophet?s grave twice and I obey God very much.
El Balshi – Of course. Mr. Walid does not steal. He only tortures.
Dessouki – Why don?t you talk about the Brotherhood and what they have done ion Taufikeyya today and the shops they broke.
El Balshi – What we saw was the Brotherhood being beaten, dragged through the streets and detained from Ramsis street. It was you who broke the shops and then accuse the demonstrators.
Dessouki – You see only? what you want.
El Balshi – OK. What do you think of him who tears down the Egyptian flag?
Dessouki – None of my business.
El Balshi – You supervised this and we have pictures for you.
Dessouki – Really! Unbelievable!
El Balshi – Of course. You are so? sure the file will be closed. I only want to know what will happen if you let people demonstrate.
Dessouki – These are orders and it is forbidden that anybody take to the streets these days
El Balshi – So this will happen again in the coming demonstrations?
Dessouki – The coming demonstrations and the ones after that. This is a new tactic because of what is happening in the country. I advise anybody who wants to demonstrate to find somewhere else other than his home to spend the night two days before.
El Balshi – Let us go back to state security. Is it true that you have files for everybody?
Dessouki – We have 70 million files. But it is not always the same. Even young children have files (laughs).
El Balshi – And the journalists?
Dessouki – We have files for all journalists. But we focus on certain people and there are others whom do not care about because they are in their own world. Not all journalists are alike. You in Dostour of course have a very special status.
El Balshi – Don?t you feel bad about the people you beat. Don?t you ever reconsider and think about joining the people?
Dessouki – That is good idea (Laughs). Why is there no ?people for change?? We have journalists for change? and engineers for change?. Who is left?
El Balshi – State security officers for change! What do you think? Are you considering?
Dessouki – (Laughs). Anyway folks. Don?t forget. We shall see each other again next Thursday. And the one after that. The one after will be a day. But again I tell you whoever wants to demonstrate should look for somewhere else to stay the night.
At the end an officer came to warn him that somebody was taking photos. I asked: ?Is it forbidden to take photos? Anyway we have a whole album for you. We don?t need any more. But still, is it forbidden to take photos??
[tags]Egypt[/tags]
19 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
40 queries. 0.091 seconds. CMS: WordPress. Design: modified Hiperminimalist Theme.
RSS for posts and comments.
Valid XHTML and CSS.
Thanks for sharing. This is the sort of gem that just encapsulates all the absurdities of contemporary Egyptian political “reform.”
This bit should leap out at those who are sanguine about a free press in Egypt:
“Dessouki – We have files for all journalists. But we focus on certain people and there are others whom do not care about because they are in their own world. Not all journalists are alike. You in Dostour of course have a very special status.”
And this bit is pretty darned Orwellian:
“Dessouki – These are orders and it is forbidden that anybody take to the streets these days
El Balshi – So this will happen again in the coming demonstrations?
Dessouki – The coming demonstrations and the ones after that. This is a new tactic because of what is happening in the country. I advise anybody who wants to demonstrate to find somewhere else other than his home to spend the night two days before.”
Mubarak giveth and Mubarak taketh away. Blessed be the name of Mubarak.
Comment by SP — May 29, 2006 #
It a typical “follow orders” mentality. They do not think for themselves and can not see anything wrong in what they do.
Comment by elmagnoon — May 30, 2006 #
Thanks for posting this. Wael Abbass of MisrDigital dedicated a special page to Dessouki: http://misrdigital.blogspirit.com/files/so2so2.htm
Comment by Socialist — June 6, 2006 #
[…] In a respectable country, Summer could have been given a medal for her achievements and talent… but in Egypt al-Mahroussa, she’s someone who arouses State Security suspicions. After all, a veiled girl from Imbaba has no business hanging out with Khawagas, travelling abroad to practice journalism, or reporting on dissent…. No wonder able professionals wanna get the heck out of the country and go somewhere where they are respected and appreciated. […]
Pingback by My friend Summer harrassed by State Security at 3arabawy — September 11, 2006 #
[…] The most cheerful moments for me at the protest, was seeing Youth For Change blogger Mohamed el-Sharqawi, in his first public appearance following his release and the end of his prison ordeal. There were other left wing bloggers present like Mr. GEMYHOoOD, Alaa Seif, Malek. It was also a pleasure meeting a blogger from Zagazig, Asad, who’s one hell of a committed activist. Some of my favorite Egyptian journalists also attended the protest, including Wael Abbas, Abeer el-Askari and Khaled el-Balshi. […]
Pingback by Dozens demonstrate against NDP congress at 3arabawy — September 18, 2006 #
[…] Blogger Mohamed Gamal, who posts under the name Mr. GEMYHOoOD, has been receiving threats from State Security recently. […]
Pingback by State Security threatens blogger at 3arabawy — September 22, 2006 #
[…] Blogger Mohamed Gamal, who posts under the name Mr. GEMYHOoOD, has been receiving threats from State Security recently. […]
Pingback by The Arabist » State Security threatens blogger — September 22, 2006 #
[…] Scary! Imagine this falling under Lazoughli’s hands… […]
Pingback by Microwaving the enemy at 3arabawy — October 5, 2006 #
[…] There is reportedly a bureau at State Security police called the “CounterCommunism and Civil Society Organizations Bureau.” Its officers are assigned with monitoring and cracking down on Marxists and left-wing rights activists, and some of them have been involved in several torture cases of leftist activists, the most recent of which has been Mohamed el-Sharqawi. […]
Pingback by “Hi, This is State Security” at 3arabawy — October 12, 2006 #
[…] There is reportedly a bureau at State Security police called the “CounterCommunism and Civil Society Organizations Bureau.” Its officers are assigned with monitoring and cracking down on Marxists and left-wing rights activists, and some of them have been involved in several torture cases of leftist activists, the most recent of which has been Mohamed el-Sharqawi. There’s hardly a civil society activist that haven’t received at least a “phone call” from them. Sometimes it’s an “invitation for coffee,” other times it’s direct threats? Whether it’s this or that, the aim obviously is intimidation. I met today my friend Emad Mubarak, director of the recently launched Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, and the brother of the late legendary left wing lawyer Hisham Mubarak. Emad was one of the main figures in the Egyptian leftist students scene in the 1990s, and was subject to several incidents of police brutality and detentions. Since his graduation from Ain Shams University’s Faculty of Law, he’s been working as a rights lawyer. Emad has been involved in defending Leftist and Muslim Brothers student activists, labor struggles, and campaigns for rights of detainees from all political tendencies. Emad met me with a big smile, “I finally received the phone call.” What do you mean? I asked. “State Security called me yesterday,” he said. “What did they want?” I asked. “They wanted to say Mabrouk (Congrats)!” he said. “What do you mean?! Are you joking?” “No no, I swear.” […]
Pingback by The Arabist » “Hi, This is State Security” — October 12, 2006 #
[…] Meanwhile, 25 transportation workers are currently on a sit in inside the Federation’s HQ, protesting the hassels they are facing from the union bureaucracy in issuing their “candidacy certificate” (one of the red tape procedures a union candidate has to go through). And 13 other left-leaning workers from the Helwan steel mills have been eliminated from the candidacy list by State Security. […]
Pingback by Police kidnaps labor activist at 3arabawy — October 28, 2006 #
[…] Meanwhile, 25 transportation workers are currently on a sit in inside the Federation’s HQ, protesting the hassels they are facing from the union bureaucracy in issuing their “candidacy certificate” (one of the red tape procedures a union candidate has to go through). And 13 other left-leaning workers from the Helwan steel mills have been eliminated from the candidacy list by State Security. […]
Pingback by The Arabist » Police kidnaps labor activist — October 28, 2006 #
[…] Around 50 activists from Workers For Change and Youth For Change protested for an hour, in front of the Public Prosecutor’s office, against State Security’s violations against opposition candidates running for seats in the General Federation of Labor Unions. The elections are scheduled to start on 5 November, but already government violations are rampant. State Security is hasseling Leftist and Muslim Brothers candidates, elections posters have been taken down, activists have been also banned from running by security’s stalling their paper work. […]
Pingback by Workers For Change protest State Security’s violations at 3arabawy — October 30, 2006 #
[…] I arrived in Tahrir around 2pm, and all I could see was a dozen of leftist women activists, tons of plainclothes security, including some familiar faces from State Security’s CounterCommunism Burea, and no Brotherhood! The journalists present were probably double the number of activists. […]
Pingback by The protest that didn’t happen at 3arabawy — November 16, 2006 #
[…] The Counter-Communism Bureau’s job is to infiltrate, monitor, and crack communist, and generally left-wing, organizations in Egypt. The director of that bureau now is State Security Lt. Colonel Waleed el-Dessouqi. Several leftist activists have previously accused Dessouqi of involvement in their interrogation under torture. […]
Pingback by The Arabist » Letter from Sharqawi — February 6, 2007 #
[…] As always before each demo, I didn?t know what to expect, and my stomach refused anything but cigarettes and coffee. I met Sally Sami–a long time friend from university who is currently a journalist and rights activist–as soon as I arrived in downtown. Things did not look good. There were nine Central Security Forces trucks, full of conscripts, parked in Mohamed Mahmoud Street in front of the AUC entrance. Three more CSF trucks were in the middle of Tahrir Sq., but full of Baltaggiya (plainclothes thugs). In front of 3omar Makram mosque, at least four CSF trucks stood close to the US embassy in Garden City. Tahrir once more was under occupation by the security forces. That looked bad, I thought. As I approached Qasr el-3eini St., where the demo was supposed to happen, I received a phone call from a journalist friend asking if there was anything happening now at the Press Syndicate. None that I know off, I answered. ?Well, the syndicate is under siege by tons of security,? he said. My impression was then that the government wouldn?t allow the parliament demo, and instead the security would intimidate the demonstrators to push them away to the syndicate, where they could demonstrate under the siege and watchful eyes of CSF, but away from the streets the activists are keen to link with–like what happened with numerous demos in the past. But I turned out to be wrong, or that’s not how things developed later. As I got into al-Qasr al-3eini Street, loads of CSF, Special Operations, and plainclothes security officers were everywhere. All I could see was only 50 demonstrators, carrying banners, surrounded by CSF conscripts, on the opposite side of the parliament, long way from the entrance. The officers were allowing few numbers of journalists and activists into the ring, but were shooing other people away. When I got into the ring, there was a fat man, with a moustache, wearing sunglasses and a sweaty striped shirt, taking pix of the demonstrators with a small digital camera. I thought initially he was a journalist, but then I found activists from Youth for Change pushing him away and shouting ?Yalla ya Amn el-Dawla, ghoour!? (Come on State Security, piss off!). I met a journalist friend who was present earlier. He told me Mohamed 3abdel Quddoos–head of the Press Syndicate?s Liberties? Committee–together with roughly five other demonstrators showed up in front of the Parliament?s entrance on the other side of the street, but were pushed by plainclothes and uniformed police officers all the way to the place where we were crammed up now. My friend told me the parliament?s entrance was now guarded by the plainclothes thugs. I told myself this was really interesting? our parliament, that?s supposed to be the supreme symbol of lawmaking, was under the ?protection? of criminal thugs! Wow! By 11:30am, though, it became clear something was happening on the other side of the street, where the parliament?s entrance was. A group of demonstrators managed to assemble there, and were circled by CSF troops, State Security agents, and uniformed officers from Qasr el-Nil Police Station. Mohamed 3abdel Quddoos tried to get out of the cordon and join the demonstration on the other side, which was clearly larger, but was barred by security. He went mad. He kept on shouting, ?You either let us join them, or we?ll bring them here.? After few pushing rounds, the officers started letting demonstrators two by two, and everybody ran to the other side to join the demo. There were around 300 demonstrators, led by Gamal Fahmy, a Karama journalist and member of the Press Syndicate?s council. I saw also Gala 3aref the head of the syndicate, and other council members like Yehya el-Qallash, and a bunch of suits. The only reason, I thought, the security allowed this crowd to assemble was the fact that 3aref and the syndicate board was there. It would be a bit too much if they give such high-profile figures the usual police-treat, especially when there were loads of media cameras around. Gradually, the crowd swelled to 500 demonstrators, mostly left-wing journalists and their supporters, from the Socialist and the Nasserist tendencies. Demonstrators were carrying banners in Arabic and English saying ?Viva Corruption? Down with the Freedom of Press,? mocking the new law. The demonstrators chanted against the press law, government, police, and virtually everything they deemed wrong in the country, but I thought it was interesting that Mubarak?s name was not mentioned at all. I asked a Socialist journalist present in the demo about the reason. He said 3aref and top union bureaucrats at the Press Syndicate Council, insisted on not portraying the demo as a confrontation with Mubarak, when the protest preparation was underway. They did not want to challenge the president in person. The result was that all the Kefaya?s anti-president slogans were changed so that the word ?Mubarak? was replaced with ?tyranny.? Few minutes after 11:30am, a handful of MPs in suits and one wearing a galabiya and turbine, from MB, Wafd, and independents came out from the parliament?s gate and joined the demonstrators. ?We are here to show our solidarity with the journalists against a corrupt government,? shouted one bearded MP in a suit, whom I did not know his name. Demonstrators kept on chanting against the government, new press law, calling for the release of Sharqawi and the rest of the detainees. They also chanted against the rising prices of basic commodities, police brutality, and other issues of civil liberties. The Press Syndicate Council suits, with the exception of Gamal Fahmy, tried hard to temp down the militant mood of the demonstrators, eager to sway the demonstrators from chanting about anything but the press law. Still, it was clear the activists wanted to generalize their struggle, and link it with others. Palestine and Iraq were not mentioned, but as always the US was denounced for sponsoring Mubarak and other Arab rulers. ?Our rulers are America?s dogs,? chanted a leftist activist, followed by others. The demonstration was still swelling in size, but we were all getting choked inside. The CSF ring was tight, and you could hardly breathe or find somewhere to stand among the crowd. I saw Mahmoud Amin el-3alem, the 78-year-old veteran Marxist writer, who despite his fragile health insisted on coming. ?I want to tell the youth, we the sheikhs are here with you today and everyday,? he said with his well-known ear-to-ear smile. ?I?m optimistic when I see them chanting with so much liveliness. There is so much resistance here more than we had in the 1950s and 60s. There is a lack of fear from the government among many young ones I see today.? Wael al-Ibrashi was also present, and sounded defiant: ?The government?s guys in the parliament are experts when it comes to cooking laws. This new law means we will not be able to open our mouths anymore about the government or corruption. This law is designed to put virtually all journalists in jail, except those who are government lackeys. But we will fight corruption and will not be silent over this government?s crimes.? Some of the released detainees were also present like Wael Khalil, Ibrahim el-Sahary, Malek, Mohamed 3adel, Akram al-Irani. Some of them told me they have to attend every demo to show State Security that prison has not deter them from activism. ?If we disappear, they?ll think what they did to us and Sharqawi worked and do it to everybody else. I try my best to show up for any event I can.? said one. Few minutes to 1pm, the journalists and activists decided to move to the syndicate. The security agents were in a dilemma. They were not keen on beating the demonstrators coz it would have been embarrassing, but at the same time they did not want the activists to reassemble anywhere and re-start a demo after they were ?released? from the CSF control. The police started allowing passage for protestors out of the demo ring, one by one or two by two. Gamal Fahmy stood by watching, to make sure no one was nabbed. In few minutes, though, red flags and black banners were out, and activists reassembled quickly and started marching. The security was panicking. I saw police generals running to 3abdel Quddoos and other senior syndicate figures saying this was unacceptable, but Quddoos insisted they were marching. It was an unusual scene for Cairenes in a while. Last year there were plenty of street demos and marches that security forces were willing (reluctantly of course) to allow. But there had been nothing of that sort since the start of the crackdown on pro-judges demonstrators in April. Around 400 activists, with socialist organizers in the front, started marching into Tahrir, passing by the AUC main campus, into Tal3aat Harb Street. I was like woooo.. Where are the CSF and the thugs? And indeed I could see panicking moves by senior officers on the scene, on their walkie-talkies. CSF conscripts were being moved left and right, but nowhere near the demonstrators. Uniformed officers and plainclothes State Security were walking behind and sometimes to the sides of the demonstrators. Some of them were taking pix of the march, focusing on the organizers. The march was attracting the attention of everybody, since basically traffic stopped in Tahrir, and later Tal3at Harb Street, as the march got underway. As the march reached Tal3at Harb Square, the police was expecting the demonstrators to move left down the street that leads to the syndicate? but radical journalists from the Revolutionary Socialists and Karama, steered the march right, and went down Qasr el-Nil Street. The demonstrators continued marching, chanting slogans against the press law, corruption, tyranny. On pavement, and out on the balconies, people were watching. You got your usual mixed feedback: support, cynicism, mocking, cheering, disgust, or curiousity? The march reached Mustafa Kamel Square, when demonstrators turned left, going down Mohamed Fareed Street, then to 26th of July Road where the High Court is located. The chants soon turned to support the judiciary, and denounce the new judicial law. I could see some syndicate suits freaking out, and trying without success to hush the demonstrators, and limit the chants to press issues only. 500 meters away from the syndicate, the CSF troops could be seen once more. Plainclothes State Security had accompanied the crowd all the way from Tahrir to the syndicate in 3abdel Khaleq Tharwat Street. One of the usual faces was the green-eyed officer Sherif el-Damatti, from State Security?s CounterCommunism Bureau, who brought a case against the Revolutionary Socialists? in court following the war on Iraq. (The court acquitted the defendants in March 2004.) He could be seen wearing a stripped chemise, talking on his mobile phone, and every now and then taking a picture of an organizer by his Cellular digital camera. The march reached the Syndicate building by 2pm. The building was under siege by CSF. On the two corners there were battalions of baltaggiya on guard. All throughout the march there were no security hassles, but scuffles broke out in front of the syndicate, as initially CSF cordons wouldn?t move to allow the protestors in. I saw 3abdel Quddoos being shoved by CSF officers and conscripts, together with Tarek Darwish from Al-Ahrar paper. Darwish lost it and started shouting hysterically, ?This is a country of pimps,? addressing the CSF officers. ?Down with Mubarak.? The scuffles went on for five minutes, before CSF extra troops were swiftly brought in, and pushed all demonstrators to the syndicate?s front steps. The demonstrators kept on chanting against the government, security, and then anti-Mubarak slogans were soon heard and repeated. It was 2:30pm by then, and I felt my brain was melting from Cairo?s July heat. I went inside the syndicate, drank some water, interviewed a bunch of activists, and chatted a bit with few friends before deciding not to wait for the press conference that was to be held, and just go home. […]
Pingback by The Arabist » Hundreds march against new press law — February 13, 2007 #
[…] [Above: Police Major Samawa’l Abu Sehla, identified by Sharqawi to be his kidnapper, together with Sherif el-Qamati of State Security’s so-called Counter-Communism Bureau.] […]
Pingback by Qasr el-Nil Police Station: A History of Torture at 3arabawy — September 4, 2007 #
[…] since the morning. Agents from Qasr el-Nil Police Station, as well as State Security’s CounterCommunism Bureau, were spotted around the parliament and in el-Qasr el-’Eini […]
Pingback by Real Estate Tax Collectors’ Strike Update: Partial agreement reached with Minister; Sit-in and Demos called off; STRIKE CONTINUES at 3arabawy — December 13, 2007 #
[…] Sherif el-Qamaty, from State Security’s CounterCommunism Bureau… He tortured and raped leftist blogger Mohamed el-Sharqawi on 25 May 2006, in Qasr el-Nil […]
Pingback by Portrait of a Rapist ?????? at 3arabawy — May 19, 2008 #