A group of Bedouins gathered outside the police station in Dahab in south Sinai on Saturday, demanding the release of a man who was being held in the police station for his own protection. The man in custody is the father of Ehab Reffat, a taxi driver who has run away with Zohra Abdullah Gemaa, a 19 year old Bedouin girl.
Some reports had said that Gemaa had been attacked but, a local resident of Dahab said, “Zohra and Ehab went to Cairo together about three days ago. They have been married for six months and Zohra is pregnant, but their families did not know this until now.” Reffat and Gemaa left without informing their families according to the Dahab resident.
A local police source, who requested to remain anonymous said, “The girl’s family was looking for her after she disappeared and when they found out that she had run away with Reffat they went to find his family. They found Reffat’s father at the bus station, about to leave Dahab, and they began beating him. The police intervened and took him to the police station to protect him.”
“Reffat’s father was taken to the police station and about one hundred Bedouins gathered outside,” said the local resident. “They wanted the police to hand over the man so they could get him to tell his son to return to Dahab with Zohra. They were there from around 9 am until 2 pm.”
Reffat’s father remained in the police station throughout Sunday. The local resident said “There are a lot of Bedouins inside and outside the police station demanding the release of the man, but there are not as many as there were on Saturday.”
