By By Ingy Hassieb and Sarah Carr
CAIRO: Witnesses to the death of Khaled Saeid are being intimidated by the police, alleged a lawyer and members of Saeid’s family.
Mohamed Abdel-Aziz, a lawyer with the Nadeem Center for the Rehabilitation of the Victims of Violence says that the intimidation began 10 days ago but has intensified in the past three days.
Abdel-Aziz told Daily News Egypt that the two main witnesses in the case, Haytham and Hassan Misbah — owners of the Internet café where Saeid was arrested by two policemen — “are receiving security threats”.
“There is always a number of detectives on their trail. Also there are always detectives present right by their shop,” Abdel-Aziz says.
Eyewitnesses in the Cleopatra neighborhood of Alexandria where Saeid died have testified that they saw the 28-year-old being violently assaulted by two policemen, Awad Ismail Suleiman and Mahmoud Sabry Mahmoud, in the entrance of a building next to Misbah’s internet café.
Suleiman and Mahmoud were remanded in custody pending investigations last week on charges of misuse of force, illegal arrest and torture of an individual who has been illegally arrested.
According to Abdel-Aziz, the wife of the doorman of this building, is also receiving security threats because of her statements implicating the police.
Ahmed Saeid, the victim’s brother, confirmed that witnesses, friends, and family of the victim are being harassed by security following the detainment of the two officers charged in Saeid’s case.
“They threaten them,” said Saeid, “Near our house, in our own street, near El-Manara [cemetery] and near their own houses.”
Saeid also alleges that two policemen stationed at his brother’s grave told four of his friends, “If you come here again we will put you down there where he is.”
With regards to Khaled Saeid’s family, Abdel-Aziz said some of them have been summoned to the police station under false charges, and some of them were threatened with fabricated accusations if the family does not drop the charges against the officers.
Abdel-Aziz said that there are no laws for witness protection or rights in Egypt.
“We will report the cases of harassment to the attorney general in order to protect the witnesses and the family. We will try and change their status from witnesses to victims in order to provide them with proper protection.”
