A low-ranking policeman killed his colleague at Al-Zohor police station in Port Said following an argument amid continued violations by policemen.
The Ministry of Interior said the accused was on duty and headed to the officer mess hall where he fired his weapon.
Four reported cases of assault by police officers have garnered widespread criticism on social media and from human rights activists. The Ministry of Interior has repeatedly denied accusations of systematic and widespread abuse of state power.
The Socialist Popular Alliance Party said in a statement Monday that the latest violations are considered “part of the series of ‘individual’ violations by the police”, arguing the need to counter these practices.
“What we are witnessing are not just individual practices but rather a serious flaw in the practices of the security apparatus, which aims to limit and shut down the political sphere,” the party said.
The socialist party said the current crisis of police brutality reveals a more general problem of a return to the economic and social polices of Mubarak, which threatens a new wave of dissent. The party pointed out economic decisions carried out by the government, such as the possible rise of metro and train tickets prices, as well as energy costs, will lead to a “new storm”.
Prime Minister Sherif Ismail announced Monday that the government will draft legislation, along with other procedures, to address recent violations by policemen.
Ismail spoke at a press conference following a meeting with Minister of Interior Magdy Abdel Ghaffar and top officials at the ministry. Ahead of the meeting, media reports suggested officials were set to discuss amendments to law 109/1971, which regulates the work of the police authority. The meeting between Ismail and Abdel Ghaffar took place after a driver was shot dead by a policeman Thursday night in the district of Darb Al-Ahmar in Cairo.
As state media and pro-state media are moblising to blame the violations on low-ranking officers, narrowing down the reason for the continuing abuse to the “morality”. Low-ranking officers have responded to these accusations on social media.
Two Facebook pages, now closed, accused high-ranking police officers of falsely accusing them of belonging to the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood group. This antagonism was brought to light after security forces arrested Saturday seven leaders from the self-titled “coalition of low-ranking police officers” before they could make an appearance on a private TV channel with host Wael El-Ebrashy.
In the wake of the arrest, many low-ranking police officers in the governorate of Sharqeya organised a protest Sunday in front of the security directorate in solidarity with the arrested officers, demanding their immediate release.
