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Public prosecutors have renewed on Sunday the detention of Gamal Saber and his two sons who have been in custody since March.
Saber and his sons have been accused of murder and possessing firearms following violence in Shubra that left three people dead before Central Security Forces intervened.
Saber is the head of the Salafi Al-Ansar Party and coordinator of the Hazemoon group supporting disqualified Salafi presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abu Ismail. He was arrested along with his sons Ahmed and Abdo, and his brother. Saber’s brother was eventually released on bail days after the violence.
Saber’s sons denied all charges and claimed they were not involved in the clashes although they did witness them. Saber’s brother Mohamed claimed he was not in Shubra during the clashes, adding that Saber and his sons have nothing to do with the three deaths that resulted from the fighting, according to state-owned Al-Ahram.
Street fighting had broken out in the working class neighbourhood of Shubra between two families in mid March. One of the dead was a 15-year-old boy from a family in the nearby area of Al-Assal.
Eyewitnesses claimed Ahmed Saber, Gamal Saber’s son, was responsible for the boy’s death.
Saber had denied that his son was involved in the initial incident; he instead claimed unknown “thugs” stormed the area, creating chaos.
The family and friends of the victim gathered and marched from Al-Assal, instigating fighting in the area around Rod Al-Farag in Shubra, going as far as Badie Street, a roadway lined with markets.
The two sides exchanged rocks, while others were armed with various weapons. The group from Al-Assal reportedly sought to vandalise businesses, buildings, and cars in the area as retaliation for the death of the 15-year-old boy.
Most shops in the immediate area of the clashes were closed the day after the clashes. A resident of the area said that over 100 cars had been damaged and stores that did not manage to close before the clashes reached the area were vandalised.
