The Lawyers’ Syndicate called for a general strike this upcoming Saturday in protest at police brutality, ill-treatment, and violations against lawyers “as they practice their professions”.
On Wednesday, a police officer at the Farscur police station in Damietta beat, humiliated, and was “intentionally scornful” of lawyer Emad Fahmy, the group “Lawyers for Justice” said in a statement released Wednesday night.
The group, “Lawyers for Justice”, which represents the opposition stream within the syndicate, and had previously called for the dismissal of Syndicate President Sameh Ashour, supported the call for a general strike.
“There was a quarrel between Mr Emad and one of the police officers at the police station,” lawyer Ahmed Shamangy told Daily News Egypt. “Because of this quarrel, the deputy police officer interfered and hit Mr Emad on the head with a shoe. Mr Emad’s head was injured and he is now in the hospital.”
“This assault was only possibly before the repetition of earlier episodes of violations and ill-treatment,” the statement read.
Another laywer, Kareem Hamdy, is believed to have been killed at the hands of police officers at the Matariya police station in Cairo in late February. According to the forensics report, and the testimonies of fellow detainees, Hamdy’s physical collapse was a result of torture during interrogations.
Approximately 150 lawyers from Cairo’s lawyers syndicate protested the incident in a demonstration in front of the syndicate in early March.
Tensions between police officers and lawyers fluctuate as lawyers often face violations, beatings, and other forms of assaults from police officers at police stations.
