Egypt protests galvanised by video of police beating naked man

Opponents of Mohamed Morsi say the footage proves
that the president has chosen to order a brutal crackdown


[ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذه الصورة]

A video of a protester being [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]
has galvanised protests against the police and government in [ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط].
Hamada Saber, a middle-aged man, remained in a police hospital
on Saturday, the morning after he was shown on television,
dragged over naked tarmac and beaten by half a dozen policemen
who had pulled him to an armoured vehicle
near the presidential palace.
President Mohamed Morsi's office promised an investigation
into the incident, which followed the deadliest wave of bloodshed
of his seven-month rule. His opponents say it proves that
he has chosen to order a brutal crackdown like that
carried out by Hosni Mubarak against the uprising
that toppled him in 2011.
Another protester was shot dead on Friday and more than
100 were injured, many seriously, after running battles
between police and demonstrators who attacked
the palace with petrol bombs.
That unrest followed eight days of violence that saw dozens
of protesters killed in the Suez Canal city of Port Said
and Morsi respond by declaring a curfew and state
of emergency there and in two other cities.
"Stripping naked and dragging an Egyptian is a crime
that shows the excessive violence of the security forces
and the continuation of its repressive practices -
a crime for which the president and his interior minister
are responsible," the liberal politician Amr Hamzawy said on Twitter.
The incident recalled the beating of a woman by riot police
on Tahrir Square in December 2011. Images of her being
dragged and stomped on - her black abaya cloak torn open
to reveal her naked torso and blue bra - became a rallying
symbol for the revolution and undermined the interim military
rulers who held power between Mubarak's fall and Morsi's rise.
Morsi has had little opportunity to reform the police
and security forces he inherited from Mubarak and the military.
But the police action against protests this time has been
far deadlier than it was even a few months ago, when bigger
crowds demonstrated against a new constitution.
That suggests to opponents that Morsi
has ordered a tougher response.
Khaled Daoud, a spokesman for the opposition National Front said:
"The instructions of the interior minister to use excessive violence
in confronting protesters does not seem like surprising behaviour
given the clear incitement by prominent figures in the presidency,
and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood to which the president belongs,
and other parties in solidarity with them."
Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood accuse the opposition
of stoking unrest to further their demands for
a national unity government as a way to retake
the power they lost at the ballot box.
In announcing an investigation into the beating of Saber,
Morsi's office made clear he was still pointing the blame
at the political opponents who have encouraged protests.
"What has transpired over the past day is not political expression,
but rather acts of criminality. The presidency will not tolerate
vandalism or attacks on individuals and property.
The police have responded to these actions in a restrained manner,
" Morsi's office said.
"Doubtless, in the heat of the violence, there can be violations
of civil liberties, and the presidency equally will not tolerate
such abuses. In one incident, an individual was seen
to be dragged and beaten by police. The minister of interior has,
appropriately, announced an investigation."