"He was tortured and killed like an Egyptian" Allegedly those were the words of Paola Regeni, the mother of the mother of the 28-years-old
Italian political science researcher tortured and killed in Egypt.I remember this quote which means a lot to me as Egyptian when I read about two particular incidents.
The first one involving the current coach of
Al-Masry SC football team in the Egyptian Premier League
Hossam HassanThe former so-called legendary of the Egyptian National team , who is known for his bad and violent temper made headlines worldwide after attacking a person what thought to be a regular citizen in a football pitch !!
It started on 8 July after the football match between Al-Masry SC and Ghazal Al-Mahalla where it ended in a draw 2-2. After the game and while it was on air, we found Hossam Hassan running behind some photographer who was holding a camera. After knocking him down to the ground , Hassan punched him and then snatched his camera throwing it away.
The incident as it was captured on air.
Surprisingly , the man assaulted by Hassan turned to be not a photographer nor a regular citizen. He turned to be an undercover low ranking policeman who is assign to take photos of the match and the audience. "Why would the ministry of interior
take photos of the audience in that match if the crowd ban for domestic football games remains in place !? Let alone why would it take photos for anyone without their permission ?"
Hossam Hassan defended what he did at first claiming that this photographer/policeman insulted him by mentioning his mother's private part.
"It is extremely insulting and offensive thing in Egypt and Arab culture in general".Hassan even mentioned that insult directly on air in a very rare incident.
The Egyptian football association "EFA" decided to ban Hassan for three matches and handed him an LE 10,000 fine over his unexpected behavior.
On the other hand , policemen in Ismailia governorate where the match protested in solidarity with their colleague.
Within hours , the prosecution decided to investigate the incident and to detain Hassan four days
pending investigation for assaulting a policeman then
referring him to an urgent trial.Al-Masry SC Fans protested the decision in the streets of Port Said and some of them were arrested then released.
Now interestingly , Hossam Hassan defended himself saying that he thought the undercover policeman
was actually a regular citizen !!!??
So is it okay to assault a regular citizen like that but is not okay to assault a policeman despite both actions are wrong !!?
By the way , the court dismissed the case after
coach Hassan reconciled with the policeman who withdrew the complaint.Now days later , we found another incident involving regular citizens and police.
Late Thursday , an MP was physically assaulted at a Cairo police station and a similar reason was said.
![MP Zeinab Salem]( "MP Zeinab Salem") |
| Zeinab Salem |
On Friday , MP Zeinab Salem of Sharkia said that she and her sister were assaulted in Nasr City police station last Thursday as they went there to see her detained nephew who was allegedly beaten there.
According to the MP who is known to be a huge Pro-Sisi supporter, her nephew was arrested Thursday after a fight with another young man and that after he was detained , he was allegedly physically assaulted.
FYI , her nephew is accused of sexually harassing a girl and stabbing her brother , an Egyptian Norwegian who is still in a critical condition in hospital.
Salem said on Friday that when she went with her sister and saw her nephew beaten , she objected that treatment describing it as illegal.
In return , a police officer punched her face and assaulted her and her sister physically.
She sent a message to the House of Representatives' WhatsApp group "yes, the MPs have got a special WhatsApp group" asking for her help. Reportedly, 5 MPs rushed to Nasr city police station to find the MP and her sister on the floor in a miserable state. There was a viral video showing
the MP and her nephew after they were assaulted at the police station.Zeinab Salem is a member of the
House of Representatives' biggest Pro-Sisi bloc "Support Egypt" and the bloc was angry for the first time for how its member was humiliated only.
Ironically , Zeinab Salem once called the security forces
to open their fire on protesters during the discussion of Protest law in the parliament.On Friday , the ministry of interior and prosecution began their investigations about the incident.
After suspending the officer for investigation, the minister of interior called Zeinab Salem
on the phone to apologize telling her that it was an individual act and she accepted his apology.
The head of Cairo security directorate
went to her house with flowers.Now during the investigation, the police officer who attacked the MP said that he did not know that she was a parliamentarian and that he thought that
she was a regular citizen !?
So it is okay to physically assault a regular citizen in the police station !??
Also, I wonder what he would do if he knew that she was a parliamentarian !?? Would he let her go with her nephew who is a suspect in two dangerous crimes !?
Now the media is speaking about MP Salem's past criminal record including fraud and attacking police officers.
That record was amazingly was absent when she ran on the electoral list
"For love of Egypt" or when she became the undersecretary of the tourism committee in the parliament !!
For me, the story of Zeinab Salem is full of wrongs in a crazy way starting with what her nephew allegedly had done.
![Hossam Hassan and Zeinab Salem]( "Hossam Hassan and Zeinab Salem") |
| Hossam Hassan and MP Zeinab Salem |
It seems to me from the two incidents that it is dangerous being a regular Egyptian citizen in Egypt anymore because you can be humiliated and beaten at any time by anyone with influence.
Forget about your rights if you are not a policeman or a parliamentarian as it seems.
