Popular Alliance deputy head questioned over colleague’s death

Popular Alliance Deputy Head Zohdy al-Shamy was detained at Qasr al-Nil police station overnight in connection with the death of activist Shaimaa al-Sabbagh, but was released on Sunday evening. 

Lawyer Ahmed Osman from the Association for freedom of Thought and Expression tweeted news of Shamy's release from custody at around 8 pm Sunday evening. 

Shamy was brought to the station for interrogation after he went to the prosecution voluntarily on Saturday to give testimony in Sabbagh's case, according to lawyer Mohamed Abdel Aziz, who attended the interrogation.

Both Abdel Aziz and the Popular Current Party expressed their concerns that the prosecution might frame Shamy for the killing of Sabbagh in order to shift the blame away from the Interior Ministry.

Sabbagh, a leading member in the Popular Alliance Party, was shot dead while taking part in a march to Tahrir Square on the eve of January 25, carrying flowers to honor the martyrs of the revolution. She was lethally wounded when police forces dispersed the march with tear gas and Birdshot. The autopsy report showed that she was hit in the back, which punctured her lung and heart.

The Party held a press conference the next day, accusing the Ministry of Interior of killing Sabbagh.

Shamy's lawyers confirmed he was at the march where Sabbagh was killed and this is why he headed to Qasr al-Nil prosecution on Saturday to give his testimony. The prosecution interrogated him from 1 pm to 10 pm and dismissed three of his lawyers when they objected to violations.

The prosecution then issued a subpoena for Shamy from National Security and detained him at Qasr al-Nil police station overnight.

The prosecution accused Shamy of taking part in a protest without a permit, assault and other charges, his lawyers added.

Abdel Aziz reported that police forces stormed Shamy’s house in Damanhour early on Sunday and confiscated the jacket that he was wearing the day of the march. His lawyers warned that this could give the Interior Ministry an opportunity to plant evidence against him.

This was disputed however by lawyer Osman, who wrote on his Twitter account on Sunday that the prosecution report said the police did not raid Shamy's house, but that his family turned his jacket in to the police station.

The head of Qasr el-Nil prosecution allegedly knew that Zohdy's house was raided with no permit, yet decided to overlook the violation, Osman added.

Shamy's lawyer, Mohamed Abdel Aziz, stated on his Facebook account that the head of Qasr el-Nil prosecution, Samir Hassan, did not issue a permit for the search and was not aware of one being issued by anyone else.

Hassan reportedly requested the clothes Zohdy was wearing at the time of the incident and asked that he bring them to the station and not the police.

Shamy's lawyers argued the papers for his arrest were illegitimate, as they were issued by a suspect in the case, the Interior Ministry. 

A video has been circulating on social media since Friday accusing Shamy of killing Shaimaa. The video shows pictures of Shamy near her the moment she was shot, with his hand in his pockets, alleging he was hiding a weapon.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi stated on Sunday that an entire institution should not be blamed for the mistake of an individual, during a meeting with military and police personnel at Galaa Theater. Sisi offered his condolences to Sabbagh's family, friends and everyone pained by her death.

He clarified it is okay to admit to a mistake, regardless of its magnitude, adding that all Egyptian youth are his children. "The general prosecution is investigating the case with complete transparency, and any officer or conscript involved in the killing of Shaimaa al-Sabbagh will be prosecuted," he said.

The president also stressed the need for a state of law in which culprits are put on trial without destroying entire institutions.