Interior Minister Mansour al-Essawy on Sunday rejected instructions by Prime Minister Essam Sharaf to dismiss police officers accused of killing protesters during the revolution from service.
“It is not in accordance with the law,” Essawy said. “Such a decision is in the hands of the Ministry of Interior.”
The minister also said that he was ready to resign if he felt that certain decisions were being imposed on him.
Responding to police officers alleging corruption within the Ministry of Interior, Essawy said that he has asked those officers to provide proof so that he can take immediate legal action; otherwise, he will sue them for libel.
Police officers staged demonstrations on Sunday, protesting the prime minister’s instructions. They said that the law allows the interior minister to temporarily suspend, not dismiss, the accused before the results of the investigations are announced, and that they should remain innocent until proven guilty.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
