(AFP File Photo)
Seventeen detainees were referred to investigation by Abdeen court prosecutors on Saturday for protesting at Qasr Al-Nil on Friday evening.
Protesters were accused of rallying, stalling the rule of law, assaulting public employees, using violence and “thuggery”, and sabotaging public and private property.
Ahmed Helmy Kabrit, a lawyer at the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), attended the investigation on behalf of the detainees. He stated that all the detainees were randomly arrested.
Three of those detained, Shehab Ali, Ahmed Ali, and Islam Abdel Hady are 12 years old.
“They’re all children,” Kabrit said. “They were watching the clashes when they were randomly arrested by the police.”
Kabrit said the police report stated that the arrests were made during a protest calling for the release of other detainees.
Protesters blocked Qasr Al-Nil Bridge on Friday evening and stopped traffic, reported state-owned Al-Ahram. Police forces fired teargas at those rallying at the bridge after protesters threw rocks and burning car tyres at police forces stationed in Simon Bolivar Square.
