Al-Matariya Hospital closes again following reported assault on doctors

Doctors Syndicate insists on suspending work in hospital until end of investigations.

A private parliamentary committee held to discuss the dispute of the Al-Matariya hospital issued a statement Tuesday confirming its acknowledgment of the violations committed by police conscripts inside the hospital, state-owned Al-Ahram reported.
Two doctors, Moamen Abdel Azim and Ahmed Mahmoud El-Sayed, alleged that beginning last Thursday evening, through Friday, they had been subjected to insults, severe beatings, and threats, as a group of conscripts attacked them at the hospital, repeatedly.
In the series that events that followed, the syndicate harshly condemned the incident, while the doctors were allegedly subjected to threats, forcing them to drop the charges against the conscripts.
The parliament committee's statement was issued with the consensus of all members, affirming that the assault did occur, with the exception of the Ministry of Interior's representative for the committee, Gamal Saeed, who said the officers were suspended and referred to the disciplinary court. Saeed, however, said the investigations should be completed before the officers are officially accused.
Saeed also promised the committee that its members will be immediately informed of all updates and results of the investigations. The statement called on the prosecutor general to complete investigations as soon as possible. Further, the committee called on the Doctors Syndicate to reconsider the decision to close Al-Matariya Hospital for the benefit of the public.
The committee was held in parliament in the presence of representatives from the Doctors Syndicate, including Hussein Khairy, Head of the syndicate in Cairo, together with representatives from the Ministry of Interior, including Major General Gamal Saeed, to reach an agreement regarding the current dispute.
The committee was formed following a call from MPs, the Doctors Syndicate and the Al-Matariya area to reach a solution.
Several clashes broke out during the meeting between the representatives of the Doctors Syndicate and those of the Ministry of Interior due to the refusal of the Doctors' Syndicate to re-open the hospital. They demand to take legal action against the assaulters as well as an official apology from the Ministry of Interior.
Nevertheless, Gamal Saeed asserted that the ministry will not issue any apologies except after the investigations are completed and the involvement of police officers is confirmed during the incident. He said, however, that despite the lack of evidence, the ministry has decided to suspend the police conscripts.
The three representatives of Al-Matariya in the parliament withdrew from the meeting as they opposed the statement and the closure of the hospital.
In a press conference following issuing the statement, Deputy Head of Doctors Syndicate Mona Mina said the only solution for the current disagreement is a quick and instant referral of the assaulters to the prosecution in order to take the necessary legal action against them.
Mina reportedly said that if they were in another country, the Minister of Interior would have stepped down from his position immediately after the incident.