Al-Gomhuria journalist Hamed El-Barbary has been detained after surviving a Monday shooting at an army checkpoint in Beheira governorate that left Al-Ahram journalist Tamer Abdel-Raouf dead.
Prosecutors in Damanhour, Beheira ordered El-Barbary, who was injured in the crash, held for four days pending an investigation of possession of a sawed-off shotgun and shotgun cartridges according to state-run Al-Ahram.
An official statement on the army’s Facebook page said army forces opened fire on the car, which was travelling at high speed and ignored calls to stop as well as warning shots, after it approached a checkpoint past curfew. Driver Abdel-Raouf was shot dead, and the car crashed into a lamppost. The army said that the shots were not meant to kill the passengers, but rather to stop the vehicle.
The army’s statement runs counter to El-Barbary’s account of the incident, given in a video uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday. El-Baraby said the journalists were returning from an interview with the Beheira governor when they approached the checkpoint. The army motioned them to turn around, and they complied. At this point the army opened fire on the vehicle driving away from the checkpoint, shooting Abdel-Raouf in the head, said El-Baraby. He denied there were any calls to stop or warning shots.
According to El-Baraby, the incident took place at 6pm, an hour before the 7pm curfew. The army claims that the vehicle was breaking curfew, but did not indicate a specific time.
Abdel-Raouf and El-Barbary were taken to Damanhour General Hospital where Abdel-Raouf was pronounced dead and El-Barbary was treated for injuries he sustained during the crash.
A 7pm to 6am curfew was imposed in Egypt when interim president Adly Mansour declared a state of emergency on 14 August after 100’s were killed in violent clashes. Journalists are officially exempt from the curfew.
