Egyptian Gov’t Accused of ‘Covering Up’ Fatalities at Police HQ Fire

Date: 07 October 2023 - 22:28

News ID: ۱۲۰۰۱۰

CAIRO (Middle East Eye) – An Egyptian rights group has accused the government of covering up deaths in a major fire that broke out at a police headquarters earlier this week that the interior ministry said only left dozens wounded.
On Monday, the fire destroyed the Ismailia Police Directorate building, but the ministry has yet to disclose the real number of casualties or the reason for the incident.
The fire took place on the same day that President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced his intention to run for a third term in the December elections.
Nationwide events were also held that evening celebrating the president’s announcement, sponsored by the largest pro-government political party, the Nations Future Party.
On Tuesday, the Egyptian Network for Human Rights (ENHR) published a list of eight names and photos of officers it said died in the fire, which it obtained via a security source who worked at the building.
But the interior ministry denied that any deaths took place and reported only 38 injured cases, while the public prosecution has also not reported any deaths in its latest statement on the fire.
A day later, Mada Masr, an Egyptian news website, documented 13 cases of deaths and eight of them matched the names published by the ENHR. The website verified the deaths by citing tributes and invitations to funerals posted online by relatives of the deceased or members of parliament.

Dozens Detained

Meanwhile, at least 67 men have been detained over the past week after protests in the northern Egyptian coastal city of Mersa Matruh called for an end to the rule of el-Sisi, according to a human rights lawyer.
A number of state-sponsored rallies on Monday that were initially declared to support Sisi following the announcement that he would be running for a third term spontaneously switched and turned into anti-government demonstrations.
Dozens of videos shared on social media - and verified as accurate by a number of activists and open source investigations - showed people in Mersa Matruh, a Mediterranean city, and in the Nile Delta governorate of Menoufia, calling on Sisi to step down and burning or trampling on campaign banners of the incumbent president.
The footage followed reports of nationwide events, sponsored by the pro-Sisi Nations Future Party, celebrating Sisi’s decision to run for a third term in the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for 10-12 December.