Public Prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud ordered late Wednesday that the first lieutenant accused of shooting protesters in their eyes during clashes last week be detained for four days pending investigation. News sources have alternatively reported the suspect's first name as "Mohamed" or "Mahmoud," and nearly all write the rest of his name as "Sobhy al-Shennawy." Al-Masry Al-Youm has been unable as of yet to verify the suspect's full name.
The officer told interrogators late Wednesday that he had not targeted protesters eyes during the clashes, judicial sources said on Thursday.
Videos have circulated online that allegedly show the Central Security officer shooting protesters in their eyes amid cheers from his colleagues while clashes took place on Mohamed Mahmoud Street.
Shennawy, however, admitted that he was the officer appearing in the video clip circulated by activists.
“The video did not show me shooting… I don’t know if my colleagues were cheering for me or for another officer,” the sources quoted Shennawy as telling his interrogators.
The same sources declined to announce the location of the interrogations which, they said, lasted for four hours.
Prosecutors, according to the sources, listened to the account of one injured protester, who revealed that he only knew the officer’s name through the video posted on the internet, and accused him of attempting to murder him along with other demonstrators.
Prosecutors accused Shennawy of premeditated and attempted murder during interrogations late Wednesday. They also requested medical examiners' reports and that Shennawy's weapon be confiscated for testing.
Before Shennawy turned himself in to police Wednesday afternoon, rumors were circulating that he had fled the country.
"He did not flee, he just chose to hide, fearing protesters' revenge," Shennawy's lawyer, Gameel Saeed said, adding that some revolutionary groups had offered a reward for his arrest and urged citizens to find him.
While Interior Ministry spokesperson Marawan Mostafa had hinted that Shennawy might have fled, an official security source refuted the report, telling the state-run Egy News website that the officer’s family had moved after he received death threats.
The officer told interrogators late Wednesday that he had not targeted protesters eyes during the clashes, judicial sources said on Thursday.
Shennawy, however, admitted that he was the officer appearing in the video clip circulated by activists.
“The video did not show me shooting … I don’t know if my colleagues were cheering for me or for another officer,” the sources quoted Shennawy as telling his interrogators.
The same sources declined to announce the location of the interrogations which, they said, lasted for four hours.
Prosecutors, according to the sources, listened to the account of one injured protester, who revealed that he only knew the officer’s name through the video posted on the internet, and accused him of attempting to murder him along with other demonstrators.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
This article previously wrote the name of the accused police officer as "Mahmoud Waheed al-Shennawy." His exact name is still unconfirmed. We apologize for the mistake.
