A number of Egyptian activists on Tuesday voiced support for customs employees who blocked a shipment of tear gas from being sent to the Interior Ministry, news reports said. The employees were working at the Adabiya seaport in Suez.
The seaport authorities referred their employees to prosecutors for declining to follow standard shipping procedures, state-run Al-Ahram newspaper said on Monday.
A cargo ship arrived at Adabiya from the United States on Saturday, laden with 7.5 tons of tear gas.
Independent daily Al-Shorouk quoted an unidentified customs officer as saying that the employees went into a fury when the shipment arrived.
The employee added that her colleagues have been enraged by TV news reports, which say that several protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square have died from tear gas used against them during clashes with security forces last week.
Al-Ahram said it had obtained documents revealing that an American ship carrying 14 tons of tear gas is currently on its way to Suez.
Aida Seif al-Dawla, head of El Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence, and Gamal Eid, director of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), have expressed solidarity with the seaport employees.
