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Friday, January 01, 2010

Egyptian thug state labels Gaza freedom marchers "hooligans, conspiracists and anarchists," starts cracking skulls

Egypt police injure 7 Gaza Freedom Marchers
(Press TV) --

Seven protestors were injured as Egyptian plainclothes police turned violent at a Cairo street demonstration organized by peace activists.

Nearly a thousand Gaza Freedom Marchers, representing 42 different nationalities, brought the Egyptian capital to a standstill at one point when they sat down on a main road in Tahir Square, Press TV's Yvonne Ridley reported.

The surprise demonstration took Cairo police by surprise after they blockaded a hotel nearby where nearly 30 of the GFM were staying.

Around 700 maintained their sit-in for 20 minutes until police reinforcements arrived to remove the defiant peace activists who were chanting: "We want to march to Gaza."

Mick Napier, the chair of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign said, "The police used excessive force and at one stage several female protestors were punched and kicked. A couple had their hijabs ripped away from their head.”

"Many of us were taken aback by the naked aggression of the police as this was a non-violent protest. Around 1,400 of us arrived in Cairo a few days ago to go to Gaza but a travel ban was imposed and we've been stuck in the capital."

The 10am protest moved to a nearby stretch of pavement where around 400 activists remained throughout the day until dusk before dispersing. They were surrounded, at all times, by hundreds of riot squad officers with hundreds more on standby.

Several days earlier the Gaza Freedom Marchers were publicly criticized by the Egyptian Foreign Minister who particularly attacked the European section calling them "hooligans, conspiracists and anarchists" and labeled them "bad Europeans."...MORE...LINK


85-year-old Gaza Freedom March "hooligan" Hedy Epstein

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