The head of The Egyptian Bar Association Sameh Ashour said on Friday that the Interior Ministry suspended two police officers in al-Mahalla al-Kobra city, Gharbiya, for physically assaulting a lawyer.
In a Friday statement, Ashour said that he contacted Interior Minister Mahmoud Tawfiq once he heard of the incident.
A first-lieutenant in al-Mahalla al-Kobra police department and a lower-ranking police officer had reportedly assaulted a lawyer on Thursday, leaving him with several injuries.
The victim, Ahmed Ramzy, had been driving his car along with his family in Hanafy area when a quarrel started with the police officers, ending with them assaulting Ramzy.
Ashour added in the statement that the Interior Minister suspended the first-lieutenant and referred him to investigation at the ministry and the public prosecution. He stressed that the union will take all legal procedures to hold the suspect accountable so that the lawyer gets his full rights.
Ashour also contacted the Attorney General in Mahalla Emad Salem to speed up procedures to arrest the first-lieutenant and lower ranking police officer.
The deputy of the Mahalla Bar Association, Sabri al-Anani, said that the Public Prosecution heard statements from the victim’s lawyer, in the presence of members of the Council of the Bar, and the officer was summoned for interrogation.
Some lawyers gathered in front of Mahalla police department, demanding that the police officers be held accountable. Hundreds of family members for lawyers in Gharbiya also entered an open sit-in to protest the assault, demanding that all necessary legal action s taken against the suspected officers.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
