Party to hold presser over killing of its member in protest dispersal

Sunday 25-01-2015 10:36 AM
Party to hold presser over killing of its member in protest dispersal
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CAIRO, Jan 24 (Aswat Masriya) - The Socialist Popular Alliance Party (SPAP) will hold a press conference on Sunday to explain the circumstances leading to its female member's death earlier on Saturday.

The press conference will be held at noon, SPAP said on its Twitter account.

SPAP member, Shaimaa al-Sabbagh, was killed as security forces dispersed a protest in downtown Cairo on Saturday in commemoration of the January 25 uprising's fourth anniversary, the party announced.

Sabbagh sustained a birdshot wound during the protest, dying shortly after being transferred to hospital, the party said in a statement.

Interior Ministry Spokesman Hany Abdel Latif told a private-owned satellite channel that security forces did not fire gunshots at this protest. The gunshots were fired by a group of protesters who were caught on tape carrying rifles, Abdel Latif added.

The Revolutionary Socialists were staging a protest, and started using fireworks when told their actions were not appropriate. Security forces then fired two gas canisters only, according to Abdel Latif.

Egypt's prime minister, meanwhile, emphasised his "full confidence" that the investigations ordered by the prosecutor general into the death of Sabbagh will reveal the real perpetrators.

A group of political forces denounced the killing of Shaimaa al-Sabbagh, disapproving of the "bloody practices pursued by the current regime in the suppression of peaceful opponents."

The SPAP organised the protest at downtown's Talaat Harb Square, reiterating the demands raised during the 18-day January 2011 uprising which toppled former President Hosni Mubarak's regime.

The party reported the arrest of five of its members, including its secretary general Talaat Fahmy.

State-run MENA reported the arrest of six individuals following the dispersal of the protest, quoting a security source at the Cairo security directorate. The source did not identify whether those arrested belonged to the party or not.

Sunday marks the fourth anniversary of the uprising, which coincides with Police Day.

2015 is the first anniversary of the uprising under the rule of former army general Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. It is also the first year to witness the acquittal of Mubarak and his Interior Minister of the charge of murdering the protesters killed in 2011.

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