A protest on Wednesday called for the removal of the Kafr Al-Sheikh governor, after a police dog attacked a demonstration.
The dog was let loose by military personnel on a demonstration held during a “national day” ceremony on Sunday.
“Almost 2,000 protesters gathered outside the governorate building [on Wednesday] to stress that Egyptians’ dignity is a red line,” said Ahmed Shawky, spokesperson of Kafr Al-Sheikh 6 April, Ahmed Maher front. He added Al-Dostour party, Kefaya movement, Oyoun Al-Horreya movement and Revolutionary Youth Union also participated in the protest, organised by the Popular Current.
Other reports cited a smaller number, of almost 500 protesters surrounding the governorate building on Wednesday.
The protesters called for the removal of Kafr Al-Sheikh’s governor, Sa’ad Al-Hosseini, and its security director.
A statement was released on Tuesday by the armed forces, saying three border guards would be punished for the dog attack. For many, however, this was not enough. Shawky said protesters were calling for more in depth investigations into what had happened.
In a reference to the statement on the dog attack Shawky said the army leadership in Kafr Al-Sheikh “didn’t seem to be giving the full picture” of what had happened to the spokesperson.
6 April movement of Kafr Al-Sheikh, released a statement on Monday denouncing the dog attack and apologising for their support for President Mohamed Morsy during the presidential elections.
“We say it loud and clear; the [January 2011] revolution brought to power what is even worse than the National Democratic Party,” the statement read.
The governor denounced the incident and the organisers of Sunday’s rally in a statement on Sunday. He accused the Popular Current of attempting to ruin a national ceremony, according to Ayman Hegazy, the governorate’s media advisor.
“We reject the governor’s statement,” Shawky responded, “it’s not the governor’s job to denounce the incident; he’s responsible for resolving it.”
Hegazy stated on Monday that one of the military officers tasked with securing the port during the governorate’s “national day” released a police dog on the rally to disperse participants in a scene which “caused panic among those present.” He reportedly later denied that the dog bit anybody.
ONTV TV anchor, Reem Maguid, reported two people were attacked by the dog; political activist Rabeh Al-Shehawy, who filed a report against the governor, and fisherman Mohamed Mahmoud, whose injury is serious.
Al-Hosseini told TV anchor, Wa’el Al-Ibrashy, during a phone interview that nobody was injured by the dog’s bites, adding that it would be his responsibility to treat whoever gets injured in case of such an incident.
The armed forces investigation revealed that the border guards personnel went to the ceremony at Birollos Tower port on Sunday after being called to intervene by the governor’s office and the port’s director. The border guards personnel responded without double-checking the nature of the situation in an action which, according to the armed forces statement, doesn’t comply with the their code of conduct.
The official armed forces spokesperson also claimed the dog belonged to one of the border guards and was not property of the armed forces.
Governor Al-Hosseini is a prominent member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Shura council, who was a parliamentarian on behalf of the Brotherhood in the period between 2005 to 2010.
