CAIRO: The case of Yasser Hamoud, the member of parliament affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood who was recently assaulted by police, was transferred to the public prosecutor's office for investigation. The People's Assembly (PA) washed its hands of the whole affair following a discussion on Tuesday. Most members affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood expressed their anger at the shocking incident during the session, Mohamed Khalil Kwaitah, PA member affiliated with the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), told The Daily Star Egypt. On Tuesday the PA session witnessed tension between members affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and the NDP over what happened to Hamoud and the violent crackdown against the members of the MB before and during the Shoura Council elections on Monday. Hussien Ibrahim, a Brotherhood MP, said during the session that the assault on Hamoud is "an assault on the legislative authority as a whole. Mufid Shehab, Minister of Judicial Affairs, expressed his deep regret over the incident, yet indicated that the attack only represents an individual case. "We cannot claim that the executive authority is assaulting the legislative authority, he said. The Brotherhood MPs demanded severe punishment of all officials and members of the security forces involved in the assault. However, Kwaitah believes the reporting on the session was "an overreaction. Al-Masry Al-Youm described the session as a "loud fight where parts of Hamoud's clothes that were torn during the assault were thrown at General Ahmed Diaa Al-Din, who was representing the Ministry of Interior. According to Kwaitah, "he Muslim Brotherhood members were only a bit nervous but nothing mentioned in the report really happened. On the other hand, Mohamed Habib, deputy leader of the MB, told The Daily Star Egypt that he is not aware of the updates on Hamoud's case. Hamoud was forced to pull his car over for no reason and was assaulted by several police officers. His supporters in Menufiya witnessed the assault. Two days ago, the PA denied any intention to request the presence of Habib El-Adly, Minster of Interior, to question him over the Hamoud incident, which made most of the Brotherhood MPs furious.
