(AFP Photo)
Port Said residents protested on Sunday against statements made by the head of the revolutionary victims’ fund Khaled Badawy, who said that those who died during the latest Port Said clashes are not on the fund’s list of victims of the revolution.
More than 40 Port Said residents were killed during clashes with the police following a court verdict on the Port Said stadium massacre on 26 January. The verdict sentenced 21 defendants to execution.
Mahmoud Qandil, a political activist in Port Said, said that the protest began at Al-Mariam Mosque on Sunday evening.
The revolutionary victims’ fund issued a statement clarifying the situation. “The victims of the clashes are under the care of the Ministry of Insurance and Social Affairs,” the statement read. It added that the ministry is delegated with the responsibility of taking care of victims and their families, as per a presidential decree.
“We cannot add victims according to our own whims,” said Ayman Abdel Meguid, head of healthcare for the fund. “We receive presidential decrees telling us to add victims of certain clashes or incidents.”
Abdel Meguid stated that the victims of the Port Said massacre were added to the fund’s list by a presidential decree, but that no decree was issued regarding those killed in the latest clashes.
Clashes in Port Said started on 26 January and dragged on throughout February and March. During the unrest, residents of the city began a campaign of civil disobedience that spread to other parts of the country. Amid the clashes, the Port Said director of security was replaced in a failed attempt to alleviate tensions in the city.
