Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08CAIRO2430
2008-11-26 15:48:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Cairo
how-toVZCZCXRO0509 OO RUEHROV DE RUEHEG #2430 3311548 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 261548Z NOV 08 FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0948 INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 002430
SIPDIS
FOR NEA/ELA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/26/2028
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM EG
SUBJECT: ANGER BOILS OVER IN ASWAN
REF: A. CAIRO 2370
B. CAIRO 2260
Classified By: ECPO Mincouns William R. Stewart for reason 1.4 (d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 002430
SIPDIS
FOR NEA/ELA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/26/2028
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM EG
SUBJECT: ANGER BOILS OVER IN ASWAN
REF: A. CAIRO 2370
B. CAIRO 2260
Classified By: ECPO Mincouns William R. Stewart for reason 1.4 (d).
1. (U) On November 22, police in the Upper Egypt city of
Aswan shot and killed Abdel Wahab Abdel Razek at his home
while searching for a suspected drug dealer. According to
press reports, police officials said Razek fired at officers
who then shot and killed him. In a November 25 public
statement, Amnesty International asserted that the officers
broke into Razek's home without a warrant as part of a drug
investigation, and shot him to death. An estimated 7,000
people participated in the November 24 funeral under heavy
security. Aswan citizens rioted on November 23 following the
killing, and police used rubber bullets and tear gas to
dispel the crowds, asphyxiating an elderly man, Yehya Abdel
Meguid Maghrabi. On November 25, prosecutors arrested and
charged one police officer with the killing of Razek, and the
Governor of Aswan reportedly decided to provide 10,000
Egyptian pounds (about 1,800 USD) and free housing as
compensation to Razek's family, and 5,000 pounds (about 900
USD) compensation to Maghrabi's family.
2. (C) Comment: Tensions between police and civilians
consistently run high throughout Egypt, and accidental
killings such as this can ignite spasms of popular anger and
violence directed against the security forces. The November
10 police killing of a suspected drug smuggler in the Sinai
precipitated the resulting clashes between Bedouin tribes and
security forces that left three tribesmen dead (ref A). The
police killing of a pregnant woman in Salamut (120 miles
south of Cairo) in October sparked a violent demonstration
against police and the torching of a police vehicle (ref B).
While these violent clashes do not come close to threatening
regime stability, they are a reminder of the un-reconciled
tensions between citizens and police.
SCOBEY
SIPDIS
FOR NEA/ELA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/26/2028
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM EG
SUBJECT: ANGER BOILS OVER IN ASWAN
REF: A. CAIRO 2370
B. CAIRO 2260
Classified By: ECPO Mincouns William R. Stewart for reason 1.4 (d).
1. (U) On November 22, police in the Upper Egypt city of
Aswan shot and killed Abdel Wahab Abdel Razek at his home
while searching for a suspected drug dealer. According to
press reports, police officials said Razek fired at officers
who then shot and killed him. In a November 25 public
statement, Amnesty International asserted that the officers
broke into Razek's home without a warrant as part of a drug
investigation, and shot him to death. An estimated 7,000
people participated in the November 24 funeral under heavy
security. Aswan citizens rioted on November 23 following the
killing, and police used rubber bullets and tear gas to
dispel the crowds, asphyxiating an elderly man, Yehya Abdel
Meguid Maghrabi. On November 25, prosecutors arrested and
charged one police officer with the killing of Razek, and the
Governor of Aswan reportedly decided to provide 10,000
Egyptian pounds (about 1,800 USD) and free housing as
compensation to Razek's family, and 5,000 pounds (about 900
USD) compensation to Maghrabi's family.
2. (C) Comment: Tensions between police and civilians
consistently run high throughout Egypt, and accidental
killings such as this can ignite spasms of popular anger and
violence directed against the security forces. The November
10 police killing of a suspected drug smuggler in the Sinai
precipitated the resulting clashes between Bedouin tribes and
security forces that left three tribesmen dead (ref A). The
police killing of a pregnant woman in Salamut (120 miles
south of Cairo) in October sparked a violent demonstration
against police and the torching of a police vehicle (ref B).
While these violent clashes do not come close to threatening
regime stability, they are a reminder of the un-reconciled
tensions between citizens and police.
SCOBEY