Clashes in Cairo after detainee dies at police station

Agence France-Presse

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Clashes in Cairo after detainee dies at police station

AFP

Nine people are injured and 40 people are arrested in the overnight clashes in Cairo's Moqattam district

CAIRO, Egypt –  Clashes erupted between Egyptian protesters and policemen on Saturday, January 6, outside a Cairo police station over the death of a young man in custody, security sources said.

The protesters torched 10 cars including 3 police vehicles, they said.

Nine people were injured and 40 people arrested in the overnight clashes in Cairo’s Moqattam district which saw some protesters throw petrol bombs as police responded with tear gas and birdshot, they said.

The security sources said a young man nicknamed Afroto, who was arrested on Friday for alleged drug trafficking, died after a violent brawl with other detainees.

But protesters accused the police of being responsible for his death. They set fire to tires and cars near the police station, leading the fire brigade to intervene.

Calm returned to Moqattam later in the morning after Cairo’s security chief pledged a probe into the detainee’s death, promising not to obscure any police involvement.

The prosecutor examined the body and ordered an autopsy.

Egypt has tried and sentenced several policemen for violent deaths in detention in recent years.

Rights groups have repeatedly denounced alleged torture and deaths in detention.

Egypt’s interior ministry has said it does not condone torture but said there have been “individual” cases of abuses.

Police abuses fuelled a 2011 uprising that toppled veteran dictator Hosni Mubarak and ushered in years of political instability. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!