CAIRO: A lawyer from Qena filed a complaint at the prosecutor’s office claiming security forces raided a village last Tuesday, firing live rounds, rubber bullets and tear gas in clashes that reportedly left four severely injured.
Lawyer Seddeeq Aglan, who was himself injured during the raid, is scheduled to meet the prosecutor on Saturday to present evidence including bullet casings and teargas canisters, he told Daily News Egypt.
Aglan’s complaint is against the head of investigations Mohamed Samir Bassiouni for excessive use of force, he said.
Security forces raided the Mahrousa village in Qena early Tuesday looking for three wanted suspects on murder charges dating back to the security vacuum earlier this year, according to Aglan.
According to eyewitnesses, who preferred to remain anonymous, the village’s residents fired back at security forces, who allegedly broke into several homes.
Eyewitnesses told DNE that clashes continued for three to four hours on Tuesday, adding that it is said to be an act of rivalry between two families in Qena: El-A’adeleen and Badr.
Members of El-A’adeleen family claimed that members of Badr incited the police to raid their village.
“The Badr family includes four criminals that have been sentenced to 10 years in prison in absentia, yet the police never raided their homes like they did ours, looking for those criminals,” said Aglan.
“The police was randomly firing bullets in the village, my complaint is against the head of investigations Mohamed Samir Bassiouni for his excessive use of force and firearms against unarmed civilians,” Aglan added.
Aglan claimed he was standing next to Bassiouni when he started firing teargas.
“I started running, but was shot in the leg by another officer,” he said.
A protest is scheduled in front of the Qena governorate headquarters against police brutality on Saturday.
The three suspects are still at large.
