http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/80904/Egypt/Politics-/Egyptian-military-arrests-leading-Revolutionary-So.aspx

*Egyptian military arrests leading Revolutionary Socialist member

Charges against Haytham Mohamadein, who is being detained at a police
station in Suez, remain unclear

By Reem Gehad
Ahramonline
Thursday 5 Sep 2013

Labour lawyer Haytham Mohamadein, a leading member of Egypt's Revolutionary
Socialists, was arrested at a military checkpoint close to Suez and is
currently being detained, the group announced on Thursday.

Mohamadein, who is also a member of El-Nadeem Centre for Rehabilitation of
Victims of Violence, was on his way from Cairo to Suez on Thursday when he
was arrested at a military checkpoint on Suez Road. He was then transferred
to Attaqa police station in Suez.

Mohamadein is expected to be referred to the prosecution on Friday. The
charges he faces are yet to be officially confirmed and the army has not
made any statements yet on the issue.

Aida Seif El-Dawla of El-Nadeem centre told Ahram Online that Mohamadein
spoke with her shortly after his arrest.

"He told me that army forces stopped him at the checkpoint and took hold of
his bag, which contained documents and legal records of his clients," she
said. "He refused this action."

Meanwhile, reports have been circulating about the charges Mohamadein may
be facing.

The Revolutionary Socialists' official Facebook page states that there are
unconfirmed reports that Mohamadein faces "forged" charges of "attacking an
army soldier on duty." Similarly, NGO the Arabic Network for Human Rights
Information claimed in a statement that an army officer filed a report
against Mohamadein accusing him of verbally assaulting him.

However, Seif El-Dawla says that Mohamadein did not tell her about any
conflict with the forces at the checkpoint.

Mohamadein was interviewed on Al Jazeera Mubashar Masr channel on Friday,
during which he expressed his opposition to what he described as the
"military leadership" of Egypt's interim government.

"[Army commander-in-chief] General Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is leading a
counter-revolution under the cover of suppressing Islamists in the
streets," he said. "The Mubarak regime is being revived again."

He also commented on the recent re-emergence of military trials saying,
that "the military are obstructing the revolution and rejecting its
demands."

The Revolutionary Socialists supported the anti-Morsi Rebel (Tamarod)
campaign and was part of the organising committee for the 30 Juneprotests
against president Mohamed Morsi. Following the mass nationwide protests,
the military ousted Morsi on 3 July.

However, the group has criticised calls for the army to play a role in
politics and maintains its opposition to military rule as well as to the
rule of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.

Egypt is currently under a state of emergency which was introduced after
violence broke out following a deadly crackdown on pro-Morsi protest camps
in Cairo by security forces on 14 August. This was accompanied by an
overnight curfew in 14 governorates.

The army has been deployed on the streets at security checkpoints since
then, particularly at strategic areas such as Suez, near the Suez Canal. *

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