Egyptian "Police are Rabid Dogs" campaign claims first scalp

An Egyptian official has said that President Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi will sack interior minister Magdy Abd al-Ghaffar after a string of suspicious deaths in police custody have led to public outrage on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the January 25 revolution.

"The decision to replace the minister is an attempt to calm public discontent before the anniversary of the revolution not because of the rampant torture in police stations," the source told al-Araby al-Jadeed's Arabic service.

	Luxor locals have protested Shabib's death [Twitter]

The source added that Sisi hopes Abd al-Ghaffar's dismissal will prevent an angry backlash on the anniversary of the revolution reminiscent to the case of Khalid Saeed, who was tortured to death by police in June 2010.

Leaked pictures of Saeed's badly disfigured body went viral and were one of the main triggers of the 2011 uprising, as a Facebook group dedicated to raising awareness about the case called for protests on January 25, which is Police Day, to draw attention to police torture.

On the evening of 24 November, Talaat Shabib was arrested on suspicion of possessing Tramadol, a pain killer used as a recreational drug in Egypt, at a cafe in the southern city of Luxor - hours later, he was dead and was being transferred to hospital.

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The 45-year-old's death led to protests by his relatives and friends in front of Luxor's police station, where 24 people were arrested, but released the next day.

Police initially put out a story saying that Shabib had been arrested for possession of illegal painkillers and for dealing in drugs - and died after being taken into police custody and falling ill. 

The father of four's family disputes the police account of the story, saying instead he sold papyrus at Luxor's temples and that they believe he was beaten to death.

A video showing signs of torture on Shabib's body was released by his relatives and circulated on social media.

Shabib's death in police custody was not an isolated incident, in less than two consecutive weeks in November at least three men were killed in police detention, according to available information.

A pharmacist called Afify Hosny was recently tortured to death in a police station in the port city of Ismailia after he was arrested at his place of work.

Saturday saw thousands of people protesting Hosny's death and torture at his funeral after a video of policemen violently arresting Hosny at the pharmacy owned by his wife was widely shared on social media.

The banned Muslim Brotherhood has for months been saying that the police have allowed their members to die in prison because of a lack of proper medical care for their health conditions.

On Twitter, the Arabic-language hashtag #PoliceAreRabidDogs trended over the weekend, with users sharing stories of torture and police violence.