(AFP Photo / Stringer)
Seventeen protesters were arrested on Sunday, in Semouha, Alexandria, following skirmishes with the police.
Ten protesters were released on Monday morning from the Security Directorate. Mohamed Hafez, a lawyer who works with the No Military Trials Movement, stated the 10 were released due to their being prominent political activists.
“The remaining seven remained in custody because they come from a lower social background,” said Hafez, who was the lawyer representing a number of those arrested on Sunday.
The remaining seven were referred to prosecution at the Borg Al-Arab Court on Monday, according to their lawyer Hamdy Khalaf. All seven detainees are below 21 years old; four of them are minors. They were charged with attacking civilians and security forces, stalling traffic, and terrorising citizens.
All detainees denied the charges, claiming that they were arrested near Victor Emmanuel square in Semouha. Police forces, on the other hand, claim they were arrested outside the Security Directorate, in Semouha.
A total of 24 protesters were arrested in Alexandria on Friday for taking part in demonstrations marking the second anniversary of the 25 January Revolution. Arrests have been ongoing since then, with the number of those detained in Alexandria alone standing at 47 by Saturday, according to Khalaf.
By Monday, A total of 77 had been arrested in Cairo, according to a statement released by the prosecutor general. The detainees were described in the statement as “criminal elements” that had infiltrated protestor rallies.
