Five pro-Morsy protesters in Rabea al-Adaweya Square were referred to criminal court on charges of detaining a citizen inside a locked room, torturing and physically assaulting him, and cutting off his finger, after they suspected that he had stolen a cell phone from another protester.
The East Cairo Prosecution has accused the defendants of attempted murder, illegal detention and torture of a citizen, and possession of unlicensed bladed weapons.
The five defendants denied torturing the victim, Ahmed Hassan, who works in a garage. They claimed that after they performed Tarawih prayers at the site of the pro-Morsy sit-in in Rabea al-Adaweya, they heard that a thief had been caught. They then brought the victim inside a car to rescue him after he had been attacked by protesters.
One of the defendants had a picture of himself with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on his phone. He explained that the picture was taken during a visit by Haniyeh to Al-Azhar, and added that his father is a professor at Al-Azhar University. The defendant denied traveling to Gaza or receiving any combat training from Hamas.
The victim said that he has been working for a long time as a parking attendant in a garage located in the area of Rabea al-Adaweya. At the time of the incident, he was woken up by Rabea al-Adaweya protestors who took him to a locked room in Rabea al-Adaweya square, chained him, and removed his clothes. When he asked why they were doing this to him, they accused him of stealing a cell phone.
The victim accused the defendants of torturing him and beating him with sticks. They were going to impose what they said was Sharia punishment but a person interfered and convinced them to cut off a finger rather than his whole hand.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
