What happened last week at Nasr City police station? Lawyers say one thing, the police another. Will we ever find out who is lying, wonders Mona El-Nahhas Dozens of lawyers had planned a peaceful march to the headquarters of the Interior Ministry on Tuesday to protest against delays in taking action against policemen accused of assaulting lawyers in Nasr City police station last Friday. The incident began when lawyer Mohamed Abdel-Alim arrived at Nasr City police station and asked to speak to a client. Lawyers then claim a policeman, Sami Mohamed, began to insult Abdel-Alim. A verbal clash ensued, following which Abdel-Alim was beaten by other policemen. When Abdel-Alim called the Lawyers' Syndicate and told them what happened 40 lawyers arrived at the police station in support of their colleague, only to be beaten themselves. Security sources dispute the lawyers' account. They claim Abdel-Alim, impatient at having to wait while Mohamed brought the files of his detained client, spoke angrily to the policeman after which dozens of lawyers arrived and blockaded the police station, assaulting several policemen and trashing the office of the police station chief. According to eyewitnesses, the area surrounding the Nasr City police station turned into a battlefield on Friday morning, with guns fired and stones hurled. Violent clashes between lawyers and policemen continued for nearly six hours before lawyers blocked the autostrade and blockaded the police station, erecting tents in front of the entrance. Immediately following the clashes, which left seven policemen and eight lawyers injured, Prosecutor-General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud ordered an investigation and issued a press release promising that the strongest possible action would be taken against those responsible for the violence. In a strongly worded statement issued late on Friday the Lawyers' Syndicate condemned the continuation of "the thuggish policy adopted by police under the former regime". The statement described the attacks on lawyers at Nasr City police station as "an assault on the dignity, legitimacy and sovereignty of the law". The statement further called upon lawyers not to defend policemen in any cases before the courts. On Saturday the interior minister said internal investigations into the incident were already underway and any policemen found to have infringed regulations would face severe penalties. In a statement issued on Friday evening, the ministry had called on lawyers to wait until the end of investigations before taking any action, promising that they would conclude within 48 hours. The ministry's response has done little to reassure lawyers, many of whom have started a partial work stoppage, delaying a large number of cases. Lawyers are demanding that the accused policemen be suspended from duty pending investigation. Though lawyers said they would not end their strike in front of Nasr City police station until all their demands had been met, and Ashour threatened to call for mass protests in front of police stations across Egypt, on Sunday the Lawyers' Syndicate called on protesters to end their strike following reports that protesting lawyers had been attacked by gangs of thugs. Islamist lawyer Montasser El-Zayat argues the call to end the sit-in weakens the lawyers' position. He urged syndicate members to stand united in the face of the current crisis.
