The Socialist People's Alliance Party, the Tagammu Party and the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR) condemned on Sunday the arrest of farmers in Daqahlia over a land dispute. The police and the heirs of a rich landowner engaged in a physical altercation with farmers defending land they claim is theirs.
Two Socialist People's Alliance Party members were arrested when they showed solidarity with the farmers during the protest, according to the party's statement.
The Tagammu Party, meanwhile, called for the release of the detained farmers, expressing support for the farmers' situation.
According to a statement by the ECESR, the organization's lawyer walked out of an interrogation led by a Talkha prosecutor to protest the latter's unwillingness to sign an official document stating he had had a woman and her 7-month old baby illegally detained over night.
Clashes occurred on April 25 between farmers and police, as well as thugs allegedly working for the heirs of the landowner over a piece of land in Talkha, Daqahlia governorate, according to a statement by the Committee of Solidarity with Farmers (CSF).
The statement added the police arrested a number of farmers, including women, during the clashes.
The farmers are defending land which they received from the state under late President Gamal Abdel Nasser in return for serving in the armed forces during the 1962 war in Yemen. The heirs of landowner Farid al-Masry are trying to retrieve the land with the help of the police, the statement mentioned.
According to the CSF, farmers had three final court rulings that proved their right to the land.
The committee's statement warned that police practices could push farmers who feel oppressed to resort to violence or join terrorist groups against the state.
