By Mahitab Assran
Three Al-Dostour Party members were arrested and beaten at the Giza train station, according to a statement released by Al-Dostour Party on their official website.
Members of the Al-Dostour Party Mahmoud Moussa, Ahmed Mohamed and Mostafa Khallaf were on their way to Aswan when the train stopped at the Giza station where they complained that the air conditioning wasn’t working. Al-Dostour Party alleges that police officers then that attacked them before being taken to a police station. Al-Dostour members were charged for delaying the train’s journey and obstructing public transportation in general.
At the time of writing, the three men were still in custody and would not be released until investigations are complete. The three party members from Aswan were in Cairo attending Al-Dostour Party elections that took place on Friday.
“I doubt it has anything to do with the fact that they are Al-Dostour party members,” said Ibrahim Rayan, an Al-Dostour member in Aswan. “How would [the police] have known who they are?”
Ehab Abdallah, another Al-Dostour member and witness in the investigation, said: “It was obvious they were not delaying the train’s trip and there are several other witnesses to prove it.”
Abdallah added that the investigation is still ongoing and more witnesses as well as officials from the train station being called forward to give their testimony.
Al-Dostour Party held a protest in front of the Giza public prosecution offices on Monday morning in condemnation of the arrest of its members and demanded police treat party members with respect.
The Ministry of Interior refused to comment on the case.
