By Safaa Abdoun
CAIRO: In a heated discussion, parliament referred to the defense and national security committee the case of a police officer allegedly caught outside the building inciting protesting workers to use violence.
The committee will hold an emergency meeting to investigate the case and listen and document the testimonies of the MPs.
The People’s Assembly’s evening session kicked off with chaos as a police officer was said to have been caught outside the parliament building among the protesters from Petrojet company, allegedly inciting them to attack the PA.
The police officer was identified as Ahmed Salaheldin Ahmed Lotfy. PA Speaker Saad El-Katatny read the information off what he said was the officer’s ID card.
“The infiltrating officer is from the Homeland Security and he is the son of a leading figure in the Ministry of Interior,” said MP Mohamed El Beltagi of the Freedom and Justice Party.
El-Katatny has called on the Minister of Interior, Mohamed Ibrahim, to clarify the incident, to which FJP parliamentary bloc leader, MP Hussein Ibrahim, responded, “I do not trust any information from the Minster of Interior.”
The minister joined the session immediately to give his official response. “Security has recovered in the country by 60 percent and I have previously presented the accomplishments here,” he said to an uproar by the MPs.
“The infiltrating officer is only doing his job by looking into suspicious gatherings,” he added, referring to the protest outside the PA where the officer was caught.
El-Katatny told the minister that they have evidence, photographs and videos, of the officers inciting the protestors to attack the PA. The minister denied and said that if this was proven the officer would be penalized.
