A number of lawyers and partisans warned of the Interior Ministry's approach in dealing with peaceful demonstrations, and citizens at police stations saying it would lead to the outbreak of a new revolution.
They added during a conference at the Egyptian Center for Public Policy Studies on Wednesday held under "A vision for the development of the Interior Ministry to meet the current challenges and keep up with the desired development of the Egyptian system," that the non-disclosure of the killers of activist Shaima al-Sabbagh, Socialist Popular Alliance Party leader, would increase tension against the Interior Ministry.
Ahmed Negad al-Boraei, a human rights activist, said that the police has not witnessed any real development since the revolution of 25 January so far, stressing that the police have been working using the same methods since 1925 until now, and the change which occurred was only regarding names, as the State Security Investigations Service turned to the National Security Agency and so on.
Boraei stressed that the Interior Ministry leaders had to listen to advice regarding the ministry's development. He pointed out that no one wants to demolish the police or break it, but they aim to develop it so as to be in line with the police of other world advanced countries.
Spokesman for the Free Egyptians Party Shehab Wageeh called on the Interior Ministry and the government to announce details about the killing of Sabbagh, noting that announcing the truth would be reflected positively on all parties and contribute to reaching the killer.
Wageeh explained that the police need public support to counter terrorist groups, but there is a state of mutual mistrust between the police and youth movements, which plays into the favor of terrorist groups.
The police's announcement that none of its officers or personnel were involved in the killing of Sabbagh before the completion of investigations was a negative sign, said Mohamed Ansary, a researcher at the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
