Claims of increased police brutality
2013-02-20 22:14
Cairo - More than a dozen Egyptian rights groups allege
that police abuse and brutality are on the rise in detention centres and during
protests.
The groups charged in a statement on Wednesday that
police were reverting back to the systematic torture that prevailed under the
previous autocratic regime.
They said President Mohammed Morsi bears responsibility
for failing to stop or condemn such practices.
They called on Morsi to fire his interior minister, who
is in charge of police, and to put him on trial. They urged an overhauling of
the force.
The groups say that in the span of a few days, 53
civilians were killed during protests violently broken up by police, nearly 40
of them in one province.
Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim denied on Tuesday his
forces shot at protesters.
- AP
