The South Cairo Prosecution has detained 10 police officers working in the Tourism Police Department, pending an investigation by the Interior Ministry into charges levelled against them, state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported on Sunday.
The prosecution has accused the officers of unlawful gathering, calling for a strike, and obstructing traffic.
The police officers arranged a rally in front of the Torism Police Department to reject the increase in working hours ordered by the Ministry of Interior.
During the investigations the defendants denied all the accusations, accusing the ministry of violating internal regulations surrounding working hours.
These were not the first police officers detained for attempting to strike.
In March, seven non-commissioned police officers were accused of inciting other officers to strike, organising illegal protests, and belonging to illegal groups that aimed to disrupt the work of the police. The seven officers have so far spent nine months in prison.
The aforementioned illegal groups which these officers were accused of being a part of are the Coalition of Non-Commissioned Police Officers, the Club of Non-Commissioned Police Officers, and the Non-Commissioned Police Officers Union. These groups were formed by non-commissioned police officers in order to advocate for their rights.
Lawyer Mokhtar Mounir, who is following the non-commissioned police officers case, told Daily News Egypt that “these groups have previously approached the ministry to secure their right to receive state-funded medical treatment, to have the right to be treated in police hospitals like the commissioned officers, and to have their own specialised hospitals.
Moreover, they were also calling for salary increases and better job opportunities, and to have insurance for non-commissioned officers working in the Sinai, as several have been killed in the region.
