Egypt

Mortada Mansour supporters, opponents clash over his arrest

Clashes erupted Saturday between supporters of presidential hopeful Mortada Mansour and those who oppose his candidacy, after security forces stormed his home in the Mohandiseen neighborhood.

Central security forces were planning on arresting Mansour on charges that he helped plot the “Battle of the Camel,” but they did not find him at home.

“The Battle of the Camel,” largely seen as a turning point in the protest movement that led to Mubarak’s departure, refers to an attack by men riding horses and camels on protesters in Tahrir square.

Security source told al-Masry al-Youm that Mansour was hiding out in the apartment of his son-in-law, Judge Hisham el-Refai.

Medical source told al-Masry al-Youm that three were injured in the clashes between Mansour supporters and citizens demanding his arrest.

Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported that both sides hurled stones, and security forces intervened to separate them and stop the clashes.

South Cairo Criminal Court, which is considering the case known as “Battle of the Camel,” decided on Wednesday to summon Mansour, a defendant in the case, in addition to his son, Ahmed, and his nephew, Wahid Salah Gomaa.

Twenty-four defendants are accused in the case, including Ahmed Fathi Sorour, former speaker of the People’s Assembly, Safwat al-Sherif, former speaker of the Shura Council, Aisha Abdel Hady, former minister of manpower, and Hussein Megawer, former president of the Trade Union Federation.

All are facing charges of inciting the killing of peaceful protesters in Tahrir Square on 2 and 3 February 2011 during the demonstrations that forced former President Hosni Mubarak to step down.

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