CAIRO: A blogger filed a complaint Saturday against a Tanta police officer for allegedly detaining, cursing, and beating him and his brother for no reason.
Mohamed Khaled, author of Demagh Mak blog, has pressed charges against officer Mohamed El Dahrawy, an investigator at the Delta province of Tanta.
Khaled filed the complaint to the Prosecutor General’s office where he was told to follow up on it a week later. Khaled was later told that the complaint was transferred to the Tanta prosecutor where the incident allegedly took place.
“I know that nothing will be done about this, but at least this officer will have it on his record and could be an obstacle to his promotion, said Khaled.
On Friday Oct. 16 Mohamed and his brother Hani, a student at the faculty of engineering, were at a bus station in Berma village in Tanta (Gharbiya governorate) waiting for one of their friends.
Officer Dahrawy allegedly grabbed Mohamed from his shirt and asked for his National ID. When his brother intervened, they were both arrested for “puffing smoke in the officer’s face, according to Demagh Mak blog, according to what the officer had told Khaled’s father.
“The Law doesn’t forbid smoking cigarettes in front of officers. Besides it’s unhealthy to keep the smoke in your chest and not blow it because you won’t be able to talk when there is smoke in your lungs, Khaled wrote on his blog.
“This incident had nothing to do with my blog because the officer doesn’t know me in the first place. This was an injustice against an ordinary citizen, Khaled said. “I only face problems because of my blog when I’m flying in or out of Egypt . they always take me aside and check my passport.
