Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar has said that his ministry’s policy is to exclude personnel who are unaware of their job responsibilities, adding that it is “unfair that [actions by] an irresponsible minority causes the stigmatizing of the national police service.”
The minister made the comments on Saturday while overseeing security measures applied during the African 2016 Forum in Sharm el-Sheikh. His statements come hours after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi suggested a need for legal changes that would curb misuse of power by security personnel.
Abdel Ghaffar's comments also follow anti-police protests in Cairo’s Darb al-Ahmar district, where a police officer reportedly shot a driver dead after an argument over transportation fares.
“It is the right of our [police] martyrs that we respect their sacrifices, and cast out whoever tarnishes the ministry’s image,” Abdel Ghaffar said, referring to the policeman’s action.
He added that the ministry is anxious to review all legal frameworks regulating relations with civilians before submitting results of those reviews to parliament in a bid to “stop violations against citizens.”
The Interior Ministry is facing mounting criticism over reported assaults on members of the public by police, as well as cases of forced disappearance and torture in police custody. The ministry, however, insists that such incidents are not systematic or part of ministry policy, but rather "individual" acts by wayward police officers.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
