CAIRO // More than 100 people gathered near Egypt's ministry of interior building yesterday afternoon to protest at the alleged murder of a 28-year-old man last week at the hands of the police.
A phalanx of hundreds of police officers dressed in riot gear formed a circle around protesters in Lazoghly Square, a few blocks from the ministry building. Within the first hour of the demonstration, witnesses reported seeing plainclothes officers carry away at least a dozen protesters.
"Why have the Egyptian people surrendered?" chanted activists, some of whom were holding signs with pictures of the brutalised face of Khalid Said, who died under disputed circumstances in the Sedi Gabr area of Alexandria on June 6.
Said's alleged killing has galvanised activists who have long complained about the expansive powers of Egypt's security forces, who human rights groups say use torture and beatings as a routine instrument of law enforcement.
Said's death came days before Egypt's Universal Periodic Review in front of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, which saw Egyptian civil society leaders express outrage over the government's continued use of violence in law enforcement and its suppression of political freedoms.
Eyewitnesses claim the young businessman was beaten to death near an internet cafe by plainclothes police officers. According to Said's family, police were trying to suppress a digital video that showed officers dividing up narcotics and cash that had been seized in a drug bust. Said had hoped to post the video, which he had obtained from friends, on his blog in order to expose police corruption, family members said.
As public outrage mounted last week, the interior ministry released a statement on Saturday that contradicted activists' version of Said's death. According to the statement, "specific elements and circles" in the Egyptian public "exaggerated" the events around Said's death to defame the country's security services.
The ministry's statement claimed that five witnesses were able to confirm that Said died from asphyxiation. Officers approached Said at an internet cafe with the intention of arresting him for two outstanding sentences for misdemeanor theft and small weapons possession. When Said saw the officers, he hastily swallowed a plastic bag of drugs in an attempt to conceal it from police.
But photos and videos that appeared on the internet in the past week tell a dramatically different story. One image shows Said's disfigured and bloody face with his jaw clearly broken.
A video that circulated on Facebook yesterday shows an interview between Hassan Mosbah, the owner of the internet cafe where Said was captured, and a journalist for an opposition newspaper. Mr Mosbah described officers battering Said's head against a marble cafe table before dragging him to a neighbouring building.
"They came back after seven or eight minutes and were carrying him like a slaughtered sheep when they threw him in front of the building," Mr Mosbah said in the video. An ambulance picked up Said's corpse minutes later.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Said's sister, Zahra Qasm, described Said as a thoughtful, reclusive young man who spent hours each day surfing the internet and listening to music on his computer.
"He was at the seaside with one of his friends. They were even wearing their shorts. They were planning on going home when one of his acquaintances invited him to the cyber cafe to show him something on the internet," Ms Qasm said. "So Khalid thought this man wanted help with something on the net, so he went with him. When he stepped inside the cafe, he was caught. The owner of the cafe will tell you that Khalid never frequents the cyber cafe."
Ms Qasm denied that there was an outstanding sentence for her brother to serve, who she said was not involved in politics. If the ministry's version of events was true, said Ms Qasm, uniformed officers would have arrested Said at his home. The image of Said's battered face rules out asphyxiation as the cause of death, she added.
Several civil society groups organised yesterday's protest which, despite its modest size, saw police engaging in the same sort of behaviour demonstrators were opposing. Plainclothes police officers could be seen choking protesters as they carried them away from the crowd. Among the chants were calls for an investigation of Said's death and the resignation of Habib al Adly, Egypt's minister of interior.
Mohammed Abdel Aziz, a lawyer for the Nadim Centre for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence, a Cairo-based non-governmental organisation, said Said's case was transferred yesterday to the public prosecutor's office in Cairo - an indication, he said, of the gravity of the controversy surrounding the alleged murder.
Yesterday's protests in Cairo followed demonstrations the day before in Alexandria, where another demonstration is scheduled to take place tomorrow.
Despite the outrage, cases of police brutality are rarely punished. Nevertheless, Mr Abdel Aziz said yesterday's protests amount to the loudest reaction against police brutality since the Denshawai Incident of 1906, when British colonial authorities hanged seven Egyptians for attacking British officers who had accidently killed a local woman during a pigeon hunt.
Historians consider the incident a turning point in Egypt's independence movement against British rule.
mbradley@thenational.ae
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
'Of Love & War'
Lynsey Addario, Penguin Press
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SQUADS
Bangladesh (from): Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mahmudullah Riyad, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Taijul Islam, Mosaddek Hossain, Nayeem Hasan, Mehedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadat Hossain, Abu Jayed
Afghanistan (from): Rashid Khan (capt), Ihsanullah Janat, Javid Ahmadi, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Ikram Alikhil, Mohammad Nabi, Qais Ahmad, Sayed Ahmad Shirzad, Yamin Ahmadzai, Zahir Khan Pakteen, Afsar Zazai, Shapoor Zadran
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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MO
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
THREE POSSIBLE REPLACEMENTS
Khalfan Mubarak
The Al Jazira playmaker has for some time been tipped for stardom within UAE football, with Quique Sanchez Flores, his former manager at Al Ahli, once labelling him a “genius”. He was only 17. Now 23, Mubarak has developed into a crafty supplier of chances, evidenced by his seven assists in six league matches this season. Still to display his class at international level, though.
Rayan Yaslam
The Al Ain attacking midfielder has become a regular starter for his club in the past 15 months. Yaslam, 23, is a tidy and intelligent player, technically proficient with an eye for opening up defences. Developed while alongside Abdulrahman in the Al Ain first-team and has progressed well since manager Zoran Mamic’s arrival. However, made his UAE debut only last December.
Ismail Matar
The Al Wahda forward is revered by teammates and a key contributor to the squad. At 35, his best days are behind him, but Matar is incredibly experienced and an example to his colleagues. His ability to cope with tournament football is a concern, though, despite Matar beginning the season well. Not a like-for-like replacement, although the system could be adjusted to suit.
Abaya trends
The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
Wonka
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Profile of Tamatem
Date started: March 2013
Founder: Hussam Hammo
Based: Amman, Jordan
Employees: 55
Funding: $6m
Funders: Wamda Capital, Modern Electronics (part of Al Falaisah Group) and North Base Media
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
