Members of the 6 April Youth Movement, led by Ahmed Maher, attempted to file a police report in Nasr city on Friday against Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim, but the police refused to file the report.
Mohamed Adel, a spokesperson for the movement said that members of his group tried to file a police report following a protest by the group outside Ibrahim’s house early on Friday morning.
The protest was violently dispersed by the police, reported Adel. “Nearly 600 members went to the interior minister’s house at 1am. By 2am the police began firing shotguns and teargas at the protesters,” he said.
Adel said that the group brought ladies’ underwear with them to the protest and threw it at the police guarding the house and the house itself. “We want to send the message that the Ministry of Interior is a prostitute for whatever regime is in power,” he explained.
Five members of the group were injured when the police broke up the protest, said Adel. One member, Adel El Sharkawy, had 14 bullets in his body, some of which were in his head. Mohamed Mahmoud, one of the co-founders of the group, also sustained injuries to his head, reported Adel. He also said that five other members of the group were arrested.
Ahmed Maher, leader of the movement, published a statement on Friday saying the police’s response to the protest was “without any justification”. He stressed that the group is committed to protest peacefully but he said the Ministry of Interior “were obviously keen to provoke any problem and arrest any person in order to start clashes.”
Media advisor for the Freedom and Justice Party Mourad Ali criticised 6 April’s actions in a statement on Friday. He described the use of underwear as an example of “moral collapse”. He said that the group must “review themselves and determine their approach”, and stressed the “sanctity of homes”.
“Together we were oppressed by the tyrant [Hosni] Mubarak for decades, but we never abandoned our morals. I hope that respectful young people do not get caught up in the moral collapse,” Ali said.
This latest protest is part of the 6 April movement’s plan to escalate their action in a peaceful way. One week ago the group surrounded President Mohamed Morsi’s house, and the week before it organised a protest in Paris to raise international awareness for their cause.
“This is part of the escalation of peaceful protests. There are lots of ways in which we can protest and we can hopefully stop violence in the streets, and others will find an alternative,” Adel said.
The group has promised a day of rage on its upcoming anniversary, but no details have been shared as to what this will entail other than it will be nationwide. Adel said only, “It will be big”.
