Katatni Demands Egyptian Interior Ministry Stop Use of Force Against Demonstrators

Dr. Mohamed Saad Katatni, Speaker of the Egyptian People’s Assembly (PA), called upon Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Youssef to prevent Ministry guards and police forces securing the Interior Ministry from shooting demonstrators with pellet cartridges.

In today’s PA session, Katatni also called on protesters to comply with the law, not to attack government buildings and facilities, and to return to Tahrir Square.

Katatni tasked MPs Osama Yassin, Chairman of the PA Youth Committee; Abbas Mukhaimar, Chairman of the Committee on Defense and National Security; Mohammed Abu Hamed, representative of the Free Egyptians Party’s Parliamentary Commission; Hatem Azzam and Sharif Zahran, to head immediately to the Ministry of Interior, to monitor the situation unfolding in the vicinity of its building between demonstrators and police.

Katatni said, "The PA has – in several successive sessions – repeatedly discussed all aspects pertaining to the subject of rights of Martyrs and the Revolution’s injured, and decided to form a fact-finding committee for this purpose".

He added that, "MPs asked for distribution of former regime chums and cronies in Tora Prison to a number of other prisons. Yesterday, the government responded to that. It also is considering transfer of the defendant Mohamed Hosni Mubarak (Egypt’s ousted president) from the International Medical Center to Tora prison hospital as soon as possible".