Egyptian prosecutors interrogate hundreds of participants for “incitement” of demonstrations against Al-Sisi

The Egyptian prosecution announced the interrogation of hundreds of those it claimed have been involved in inciting demonstrations in public squares and roads, against Egyptian president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.

This came in a statement by Attorney General Hamada El-Sawy, reported by local media late yesterday evening. This was the first official acknowledgment of the participation of hundreds of protesters in anti-regime demonstrations last Friday and Saturday, in five provinces.

The statement claimed that the Public Prosecution interrogated no more than a thousand people, in the presence of their lawyers, who are accused of participating in those demonstrations.

“Some of those interrogated confessed that they have participated in demonstrations, in some areas in five provinces,” the statement revealed.

The confessions of the accused people confirmed various reasons that led them to demonstrate, including “poor economic conditions, and rejection of the existing regime in the country,” the statement further added.

The prosecution has announced that it would “release those who put themselves in a position of suspicion, without the intention of committing crimes.”

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The statement pointed out that the authorities have arrested people with foreign nationalities around the places of demonstrations in Cairo, including a Palestinian belonging to the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine and a Dutch citizen.

The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine has denied the statements of the detainee, Ashraf Saad Tafesh, regarding his role in the recent protests in Egypt.

The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine clarified that Tafesh is one of its members, but added that “he arrived in Cairo one day before the demonstrations, in order to travel to another country with the aim of studying.”

Amid unprecedented security deployments, the Egyptian prosecution warned in its statement against engaging in plans that “exploit the people to harm the homeland.”

The announcement comes following an evening full of calls supporting and opposing the demonstration on Friday, while Washington warned its citizens not to be present in its areas, according to a warning published by the US Embassy in Cairo on Thursday evening.