Angry protests erupt in Egyptian village after police killing of father

Angry protests have erupted in a village north of Cairo after a policeman killed a civilian in a shop, while Egypt faces international pressure over its repressive policies.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab Staff

19 March, 2021

Mohammed Yusuf was beaten to death by a police officer in his shop [Twitter]

Angry protests erupted in the Egyptian village of Munsha'at Al-Keram in Qalyubia province north of Cairo, after a young man was beaten to death by police officers at his workplace.

According to witnesses who uploaded video of the protests to social media on Wednesday evening, police officer Mustafa Nabil and two of his subordinates entered the poultry shop where Mohammed Yusuf, a 34-year-old father of four, worked.

Nabil then hit Yusuf on the head with the back of his gun and he died later, in the shop.

Local residents took to the streets following the incident, calling for justice for the victim and chanting "The Interior Ministry are thugs.”

Egyptian Twitter users said that due to the poor human rights situation in Egypt, Nabil will not be held accountable for the killing.

Haitham Abu Khalil, an opposition TV presenter and human rights activist said, “Where are the human rights? Why do the prosecutors ignore the incident and not arrest the perpetrator? Why is the local media not covering the crime? Are they waiting for security instructions?”

Read more: Did Biden just sell out on his promise to get tough on Sisi?

Some social media users accused government-run Egyptian TV Channel One of reporting Facebook posts which publicized the killing.

One asked “Why is government media, funded by the people's taxes, including those the murdered young man, trying to silence the truth and covering up the perpetrator?"

Last week, 31 countries at the UN Human Rights Council issued a joint statement voicing alarm at restrictions on free expression and assembly in Egypt, and the detention and torture suffered by political dissidents, right defenders and journalists.

Egypt's parliament has rejected the accusations.

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