CAIRO: A group of activists were detained on Monday evening while attempting to hand out leaflets in downtown Cairo.
The group of four, composed of foreign nationals and Egyptians, were stopped on the central Talat Harb Street. They were later joined by two friends who were also detained. While all the foreigners have been released, Egyptian Mohamed El-Guindy remains in detention.
According to lawyer Mohamed Eissa, El-Guindy is being held in Cairo’s Security Directorate.
Journalist Ana Nogueira, a Portuguese national, described to Daily News Egypt what happened shortly after she arrived at the scene.
“Me and an Italian went to the group [of four activists] after they called us and told us what was happening. Apparently they had only handed out two leaflets before they were quickly surrounded by the police, Nogueira explained, adding that the leaflets, written in Arabic, were about the case against the iron wall Egypt is building on its border with Gaza.
“We were all then bundled into a police station. Police officers took my mobile out of my hand while I was using it. They yelled at us for the first hour before they eventually calmed down, Nogueira said.
Nogueira and her Italian friend were eventually released two hours later. The remaining members of the group other than El-Guindy were released in the early hours of the following morning.
Egypt’s construction of the wall on its border has attracted strong opposition from activists in Egypt and elsewhere, who maintain that by building it Egypt is contributing to Israel’s siege of Gaza.
