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Survivor journalist faces detention for possessing weapons

February 7, 2014 at 3:06 pm

Late Tuesday prosecutors in Damanhour, a city northwest of Cairo, ordered the detention of Al-Gomhoreya journalist Hamid al-Barbary, who had survived an army shooting a day earlier. He will be detained for four days pending an investigation after being charged with possessing unlicensed weapons.


Tamer Abdel-Raouf, Bureau chief of Al-Ahram newspaper in Beheira, was shot dead on Monday evening while driving his car during the imposed curfew, which begins every evening at 7 pm. Al-Barbary, who was in the same car, was wounded and sustained critical injuries.

While in hospital, Al-Barbary gave his account about the shooting, and it was clear that his version was quite different than the one being offered by the spokesman of the military coup, Colonel Ahmed Ali.

Al-Barbari said that the army fired at the car after ordering the driver, Abdel-Ra’ouf, not to pass through. He added Abdel-Raouf complied with the order, but forces shot him anyway.

Earlier, Egyptian Armed Forces Spokesman Colonel Ahmed Ali said in a statement that the two passengers [Al-Barabari and Abdul-Ra’ouf] “breached the curfew, drove quickly towards the security checkpoint and did not comply with calls to stop or warning shots fired in the air.”

Brief for the video

My colleague Tamer abdul-Ra’ouf was driving me to the taxi park where I can take a taxi to my house. We passed a checkpoint for the armed forces and asked whether we can continue to the park. They told us to return back. That was what we heard from them.

We immediately complied with their demands. We did not discuss anything with them. They asked us to return back and we returned. When we drove off, we were hit with fire bullets. A bullet hit my colleague Tamer abdul-Ra’ouf. I asked him to stop in order to see where the source of the fire was. He tried, but he couldn’t because he was hit with a bullet in the head. The car continued moving as he was sinking in his blood. It continued until it hit a light pole. I fell unconscious and got up in the hospital.