Mourners gathered at Omar Makram mosque in Tahrir Square at noon on Monday for the funeral of two men killed in the latest wave of clashes.
Nearly 1,000 people surrounded the mosque where two coffins contained the bodies of 19-year-old Amr Sa’ad Abdel Reheem and 28-year-old Mohamed El-Gendy who both died on Sunday.
Many in the crowd broke down in tears as the cars carrying the bodies arrived at the mosque and the coffins were taken inside. One coffin was draped in an Egyptian flag and the other in a green flag emblazoned with Quranic verses.
Former presidential candidate Khaled Ali was inside the mosque for the funeral prayers. Hamdeen Sabahy, leader of the popular current and one of the leaders of the National Salvation Front, was also present.
Following the funeral prayers the coffins were loaded back into the two cars and were driven symbolically around Tahrir Square, followed by the crowd who chanted against President Mohamed Morsi and called for the downfall of the regime.
The procession moved to Corniche El-Nile and continued to be followed by hundreds of mourners. As the crowd passed by the road leading to the American embassy, the some in the procession broke ranks and turned their anger towards the police stationed nearby. The mourners threw rocks and charged forward, flinging security barriers out of the way. The police responded with a volley of tear gas and the crowd dispersed.
The cars carrying the bodies sped away from the crowd after the violence erupted.
A few remained to shout and throw rocks at the police while others tried to diffuse the violence. One elderly woman walked up to the police line and handed one of them a picture of one of the deceased. She turned around and told the remaining people to go home.
Abdel Reheem was shot outside the presidential palace on Friday and died as a result of his injuries.
El-Gendy was a political activist, member of the Popular Current and founding member of Al-Dostour Party. On its official Facebook page, Al-Dostour held Morsi and the interior minister responsible for the “blood of the martyrs.”
The party’s page also claimed that El-Gendy’s medical report showed evidence of a wire around his neck, electric burns on his tongue, three broken ribs, burns from a hot iron on his back and abdomen and evidence of him being hit with sharp tools on his face, head, abdomen, back and legs.
Mohamed Abdel Aziz, a human rights lawyer involved in El-Gendy’s case, reported that El-Gendy disappeared on the evening of 27 January. He said that eyewitnesses informed him that El-Gendy was being held at Gabal Al Ahmar, a Central Security Forces camp. However when the camp was contacted it denied that El-Gendy was there.
El-Gendy was found at Al Helal Hospital in downtown Cairo on Thursday. The hospital said that El-Gendy had been there since Thursday, but Abdel Aziz claims that there was no report filed by the hospital.
Abdel Aziz also said that El-Gendy’s family are awaiting the results of the medical report before making any decisions on potential legal action.
Presidential spokesperson Yasser Ali released a statement on Monday saying that the presidency will pursue inquiries in to the death of El-Gendy, stressing that it “does not violate the rights and freedoms of citizens.”
The Ministry of Interior had no comment regarding El-Gendy’s death.
