Some of the detainees arrested near clashes in downtown Cairo over the past few days have denied any involvement in the violence, which has left at least 12 dead, the Health Ministry said Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the South Cairo Public Prosecution decided to extend the detention of the 35 detainees for four days. They had been arrested Monday, pending investigations.
As of Tuesday, 167 total have been detained from the five-day fighting.
The public prosecution has accused the detainees with gathering illegally, damaging public and private property, resisting authorities, and hindering traffic.
During investigations, the 35 suspects denied being involved in the fighting, saying they were surprised when military police, security forces and citizens arrested them near the center of the clashes. They said it was only coincidental that they were passing by during the fighting.
In a Monday press conference, Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) member General Adel Emara accused local and foreign elements of spreading chaos and seeking Egypt's destruction.
Emara then showed videos that he said revealed a scheme targeting Egypt's security. Activists mocked the videos when they were shown.
One of the videos showed someone accusing the owner of Merit Publishing House, Mohamed Hashem, of paying people to clash with security forces.
Presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei has expressed astonishment that accusations are being directed at local and foreign elements for sparking the recent fighting.
On his Twitter account Monday, ElBaradei pointed out domestic and foreign conspiracies are always mentioned whenever violence erupts in Egypt.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
