The Ministry of Interior will launch an investigation into a video showing two women being assaulted by policemen in a shopping mall in Cairo, said the ministry’s Assistant for Media and Public Relations General Abu Bakr Abdel Kareem, Monday.
The video, which went viral at the beginning of week, shows policemen in plain clothes insulting and destroying the goods of street vendors. It also shows the policemen yelling at and assaulting two women by kicking them, after destroying their mobile phones. The unknown officers also insulted the person who filmed footage of the incidents.
Abdel Kareem said that the police patrol was chasing street vendors, adding that, if the video is confirmed true, the incident will be investigated. He affirmed Minister of Interior Magdy Abdel Ghaffar’s strict orders to policemen to “treat citizens well, and balance between human rights and law enforcement”.
Violence and verbal abuse during the removal of street vendors are common practice.
The National Council for Women in Egypt (NCW) condemned the incident Monday, asserting that it shows “deterioration of education” and the rise of flawed habits when it comes to handling disagreements, which resulted in such an attack.
The NCW also called for the immediate investigation of the incident and the police officers.
Last month, international rights group Amnesty International called on Egypt’s Ministry of Interior to stop violence against its citizens, after a video that showed policemen beating a man in Dar Al-Salam metro station went viral.
The video was viewed on social media as a police violation towards citizens, and an attempt to return to the era preceding the 25 January Revolution. The ministry responded by vowing to prosecute the officer.
