By Marine Weitzmann
CAIRO: The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information denounced in a statement the use of violence and “harassment” by Egyptian security forces against participants in a vigil held for Khaled Saeid in Alexandria on Friday.
Saeid, 28, died in Alexandria on June 6 after being apprehended by two policeman, who are currently standing trial for “misuse of force.” Witnesses and rights groups say Saeid died as a result of police brutality.
Protestors along with Saeid’s mother organized a candlelight vigil on Friday, which was preceded by a communal meal at the time of iftar on Alexandria’s Cleopatra Corniche, near his home.
According to an ANHRI statement, security forces surrounded protesters at the peaceful event and assaulted them “in an inhumane way.”
The death of Khaled Saeid has flared tensions and spurred a number of protests nationwide since June.
A protest in Sidi Gaber last month saw the arrest of several human rights activists, said ANHRI, demanding that the two policemen face charges proportional to their act.
“ANHRI considers that the last assaults by security and the continuous bullying by police officers … show the intention of the Egyptian government to continue to terrorize citizens.”
