Wafd newspaper accused police of sponsoring and securing ransom-payment to kidnappers of children in Suhag Governorate. The paper added that the police fail to help return abducted children to their parents. The paper said that poor security has led to several kidnappings. Parents unable to pay the ransom can do nothing but wait. The paper said the police secured the return of a child named Abdel Rahman Khaled to his parents after receiving the required ransom. Khaled was kidnapped in front of his school and his parents were asked by the police to refrain from angering the kidnappers. The father paid a ransom of LE100,000. The paper also said that police did not lift a finger to return another kidnapped girl in Giza, after her father failed to gather the required ransom. Three police stations refused to file a report that his 17-year-old daughter was kidnapped, said the father, who finally managed to have a report of the incident filed. In an interview with the paper, the victim's father said the kidnapper called him several times from a mobile phone number. That number is still functioning normally, even after he gave it to the police. Egyptians complain about weak security on the streets, which activists claim is intended to create chaos and persuade people that conditions were better under Mubarak. Police violations were one of the root-causes of the 25 January revolution. During the first few days of the uprising, protesters burned police stations in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez.
