Egyptians attacked at security HQs

A file photo of protests in Egypt

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168631.html

Gunmen have attacked Egyptian protesters as they tried to storm the state security headquarters in the capital Cairo to seize documents of the former regime's rights violations.

Armed men assailed hundreds of Egyptian protesters with knives and rocks as they attempted to enter the capital city's security offices on Sunday in order to retrieve records of human rights abuse during the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak.

The army also intervened, firing warning shots and using sticks to disperse the crowd, reports say.

"The protesters were attacked by the thugs that are brought out at all the demonstrations. They had large knives and were throwing large rocks straight at the protesters," AFP quoted a witness as saying.

"The protesters are now really angry and heading to Tahrir (Liberation) Square," the epicenter of anti-regime protests that toppled Mubarak in February, the witness added.

Despite the violence, hundreds managed to storm the internal security organization and seize some dossiers, purportedly on human rights violations.

Around 2,500 protesters stormed the state security building in Cairo's Nasr City "grabbing official documents before officials could burn or shred them," a security officer told AFP.

This comes a day after protesters gathered outside the state security agency in Alexandria, accusing officers inside the building of destroying evidence of rights abuses.

Protesters have called for the closure of the country's security agency, otherwise known as 'Amn al-Dowla', and the prosecution of its leaders.

Rights activists maintain that the agency was the main tool of repression used by Mubarak's regime for approximately 30 years. Under Egypt's emergency law, it routinely arrested citizens and tortured them, activists allege. Since Mubarak's downfall on February 11, the security agencies have remained operational, but have maintained a low profile.

Egypt group to unveil secret files

A file photo of Egypt's crackdown on protesters

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168626.html

Egyptian revolutionaries say they are set to disclose information incriminating senior officials over their involvement in the violent crackdown on anti-regime protests.

A number of “documents will soon be declassified, showing some senior Egyptian officials' connections with the country's Security Organization in the repression of people and protesters,” Ahmed al-Dowma, a member of Egypt's Youths Coalition of Revolution Rage, told Iran's Arabic-language news channel Al-Alam on Sunday.

He said that the group has already published some records of the country's security organization which was “the main arm in the suppression, slaughter and torture of Egyptians” under the regime of the deposed President Hosni Mubarak.

Dowma said that the revolutionary forces discovered instruments of torture and graves of those who lost their lives under the regime's brutal inquisition during a raid on the security organization offices.

Reports indicate that thousands of protesters stormed buildings belonging to Egypt's internal security forces over the weekend, seizing what protesters described as a treasure trove of documents related to the regime of the ousted ruler.

Crowds of people broke into three Interior Ministry buildings on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, including the Cairo headquarters for Amn al-Dowla, the agency responsible for domestic security. Some of the buildings were set afire.

Protesters clashed with army troops on Sunday as they tried to enter an Amn al-Dowla building in downtown Cairo. Troops fired shots into the air to disperse the protesters.

Egypt's military government didn't respond to a request for comments.

According to human-rights activists, Amn al-Dowla was the main tool of repression used by Mubarak's regime during his decades-long grip on power. Under Egypt's emergency law, it routinely arrested citizens and tortured them. Since Mubarak's ouster, the security forces are still running but have kept out of the public eye.

Activists said they entered the buildings because security officials from the former regime had been engaged in destroying documents -- potentially eliminating evidence that could be used to prosecute former officials for crimes, including torture.