The Supreme State Security Prosecution released 200 people, on Tuesday, who were arrested last month in connection with the 20 September protests. Security forces released earlier hundreds of others arrested simultaneously in various areas during the September incidents.
In the same context, the Attorney General Hamada El-Sawy has issued a detailed statement on the arrest of hundreds in connection with the demonstrations and the subsequent events.
“The public prosecutor ordered extensive investigation into the incitement of demonstrations in public areas and roads in several governorates to uncover the truth of the protesters’ affiliations. In this context, the public prosecution has questioned no more than 1.000 people over participating in these demonstrations in the presence of their lawyers. The investigation included clips taken by surveillance cameras located in the scope of the demonstrations. It also issued an order to examine the social media pages and accounts that incited the protests,” the attorney general said in a statement.
The statement noted that some of the suspects confessed to participating in demonstrations in five governorates. Some attributed their participation in the demonstrations to the poor economic conditions, while other said they were deceived by social media pages.
Some of the suspects said they were asked by unknown people in Tahrir Square, Cairo downtown, to shoot photos from the protests for broadcast via satellite channels with the aim to incite more citizens to demonstrate.
Anti-government protesters took to streets on 20 and 27 September in Cairo and other Egyptian cities, such as Alexandria and Mahalla, in response to calls launched via social media, while others gathered on 27 September to express their support for the ruling regime.
Videos circulated on social media showing dozens of people gathered in Alexandria, Mahalla, and Damietta in the Nile Delta as well as in Suez, protesting against the government, but the police quickly dispersed them.
In Cairo, arrests took place during a night demonstration in Tahrir Square, the iconic scene of the 25 January Revolution in 2011. Police fired tear gas at protesters around the square, and there was heavy security deployment, according to eye witnesses.
Among those calling for the demonstration was an Egyptian contractor residing in Spain, called Mohamed Ali. Through a series of videos that went viral on social media, Ali accused the government of wasting public money on useless projects.
At a conference held recently in Cairo, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi denied accusations of corruption, stressing that he is “honest, faithful, and loyal.”
Protesting in Egypt is severely restricted by a law passed in November 2013, a few months after the ousting of the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July of the same year.
