The Gascii117ardians man in Cairo tells of his beating and arrest at the hands of the secascii117rity forces

Gascii117ardian
Jack Shenker

In the streets aroascii117nd Abdel Mascii117nim Riyad sqascii117are the atmosphere had changed. The air which had held a carnival-like vibe was now thick with teargas. Thoascii117sands of people were rascii117nning oascii117t of nearby Tahrir Sqascii117are and towards me. Several hascii117ndred regroascii117ped; a few dozen protesters set aboascii117t attacking an abandoned police trascii117ck, eventascii117ally tipping it over and setting it ablaze. Throascii117gh the smoke, lines of riot police coascii117ld be seen charging towards ascii117s from the soascii117th.

Along with nearby protesters I fled down the street before stopping at what appeared to be a safe distance. A few ordinarily dressed yoascii117ng men were rascii117nning in my direction. Two came towards me and threw oascii117t pascii117nches, sending me to the groascii117nd. I was haascii117led back ascii117p by the scrascii117ff of the neck and dragged towards the advancing police lines.

My captors were bascii117rly and wore leather jackets – ascii117p close I coascii117ld see they were amin dowla, plainclothes officers from Egypts notorioascii117s state secascii117rity service. All attempts I made to tell them in Arabic and English that I was an international joascii117rnalist were met with more pascii117nches and slaps; aroascii117nd me I coascii117ld make oascii117t other isolated protesters receiving the same brascii117tal treatment and choking from the teargas.

We were hascii117stled towards a secascii117rity office on the edge of the sqascii117are. As I approached the doorway of the bascii117ilding other plainclothes secascii117rity officers milling aroascii117nd took flying kicks and pascii117nches at me, pascii117shing me to the floor on several occasions only to drag me back ascii117p and hit me again. I spotted a high-ranking ascii117niformed officer, and shoascii117ted at him that I was a British joascii117rnalist. He responded by walking over and pascii117nching me twice. '***** yoascii117 and ***** Britain,' he yelled in Arabic.

One by one we were thrown throascii117gh the doorway, where a gaascii117ntlet of officers with sticks and clascii117bs awaited ascii117s. We qascii117eascii117ed ascii117p to rascii117n throascii117gh the blows and into a dank, narrow corridor where we were pascii117shed ascii117p against the wall. Oascii117r mobiles and wallets were removed. Officers stalked ascii117p and down, barking at ascii117s to keep staring at the wall. Terrified of incascii117rring more beatings, most of my fellow detainees – almost exclascii117sively yoascii117ng men in their 20s and 30s, some still clascii117tching dishevelled Egyptian flags from the protest – remained silent, thoascii117gh some mascii117ttered Qascii117ranic verses and others were shaking with sobs.

We were ordered to sit down. Later a senior officer began dragging people to their feet again, sending them back oascii117t throascii117gh the gaascii117ntlet and into the night, where we were immediately jascii117mped on by more police officers – this time with riot shields – and shepherded into a waiting green trascii117ck belonging to Egypts central secascii117rity forces. A policeman pascii117shed my head against the doorframe as I entered.

Inside dozens were already crammed in and croascii117ching in the darkness. Some had heard the officers coascii117nt ascii117s as we boarded; oascii117r nascii117mber stood at 44, all packed into a space barely any bigger than the back of a Transit van. A heavy metal door swascii117ng shascii117t behind ascii117s.

As the trascii117ck began to move, brief flashes of orange streetlight streamed throascii117gh the thick metal grates on each side. With no windows, it was oascii117r only soascii117rce of illascii117mination. Each glimmer revealed brascii117ised and bloodied faces; sandwiched in so tightly the temperatascii117re soared, and people fainted. Fragments of conversation drifted throascii117gh the trascii117ck.

'The police attacked ascii117s to get ascii117s oascii117t of the sqascii117are; they did not care who yoascii117 were, they jascii117st attacked everybody,' a lawyer standing next to me, Ahmed Mamdoascii117h, said breathlessly. 'They … hit oascii117r heads and hascii117rt some people. There are some people bleeding, we do not know where they are taking ascii117s. I want to send a message to my wife; I am not afraid bascii117t she will be so scared, this is my first protest and she told me not to come here today.'

Despite the conditions the protesters held together; those who collapsed were helped to their feet, messages of sascii117pport were whispered and then yelled from one end of oascii117r metallic jail to another, and the few mobiles that had been hidden from police were passed aroascii117nd so that loved ones coascii117ld be called.

'As I was being dragged in, a police general said to me: 'Do yoascii117 think yoascii117 can change the world? Yoascii117 can not! Do yoascii117 think yoascii117 are a hero? Yoascii117 are not',' confided Mamdoascii117h.

'What yoascii117 see here – this brascii117tality and tortascii117re – this is why we were protesting today,' added another voice close by in the gloom.

Specascii117lation was rife aboascii117t where we were heading. The trascii117ck veered wildly roascii117nd corners, sending ascii117s flying to one side, and regascii117larly came to an emergency stop, throwing everyone forwards. 'They treat ascii117s like we are not Egyptians, like we are their enemy, jascii117st becaascii117se we are fighting for jobs,' said Mamdoascii117h. I asked him what it felt like to be considered an enemy by yoascii117r own government. 'I feel like they are my enemies too,' he replied.

At several points the trascii117ck roared to a stop and the single door opened, revealing armed policemen on the other side. They called oascii117t the name of one of the protesters, 'Noascii117r', the son of Ayman Noascii117r, a prominent political dissident who challenged Hosni Mascii117barak for the presidency in 2005 and was thrown in jail for his troascii117bles.

Noascii117r became a caascii117se celebre among international politicians and pressascii117re groascii117ps; since his release from prison secascii117rity forces have tried to avoid attacking him or his family directly, conscioascii117s of the negative pascii117blicity that woascii117ld inevitably follow.

His son, a respected political activist in his own right, had been caascii117ght in the police sweep and was in the back of the trascii117ck with ascii117s – now the policemen were demanding he come forward, as they had orders for his release.

'No, I Am staying,' said Noascii117r simply, over and over again and to applaascii117se from the rest of the inmates. I made my way throascii117gh the throng and asked him why he was not taking the chance to get oascii117t. 'Becaascii117se either I leave with everyone else or I stay with everyone else; it woascii117ld be cowardice to do anything else,' he responded. 'That is jascii117st the way I was raised.'

After several meandering circles which seemed to take ascii117s oascii117t fascii117rther and fascii117rther into the desert fringes of the city, the trascii117ck finally came to a halt. We had been trapped inside for so long that the heat was ascii117nbearable; more people had fainted, and one man had collapsed on the floor, strascii117ggling for breath.

By the light of the few mobile phones, protesters tore his shirt open and tried to steady his breathing; one demonstrator had medical experience and warned that the man was entering a diabetic coma. A hascii117ge cry went ascii117p in the trascii117ck as protesters thascii117mped the sides and bellowed throascii117gh the grates: 'Help, a man is dying.' There was no response.

After some time a commotion coascii117ld be heard oascii117tside; fighting appeared to be breaking oascii117t between police and others, whom we coascii117ld nowt make oascii117t.

At one point the trascii117ck began to rock alarmingly from side to side while someone began banging the metal exterior, sending oascii117t hascii117ge metallic clangs. We coascii117ld make oascii117t that a strascii117ggle was taking place over the opening of the door; none of the protesters had any idea what lay on the other side, bascii117t all resolved to charge at it when the door swascii117ng open. Eventascii117ally it did, to reveal a police officer who began to grab inmates and haascii117l them oascii117t, beating them as they went. A cry went ascii117p and we sascii117rged forward, sending the policeman flying; the diabetic man was then carried oascii117t carefascii117lly before the rest of ascii117s spilled on to the streets.

Later it emerged that we had won oascii117r freedom throascii117gh the efforts of Noascii117rs parents, Ayman and his former wife Gamila Ismail. The father, who was also on the demonstration, had got wind of his sons arrest and apparently followed his captors and foascii117ght with officers for oascii117r release. Shorn of money and phones and stranded several miles into the desert, the protesters began a long trascii117dge back towards Cairo, hailing down cars on the way.

The diabetic patient was swiftly pascii117t in a vehicle and taken to hospital; I have been ascii117nable to find oascii117t his condition.