Nine policemen were referred to the prosecutor Wednesday to be interrogated in relation to the assault of two doctors at Al-Matariya hospital, state media reported. Moamen Abdel Azim and Ahmed Mahmoud El-Sayed, who are doctors at Al-Matariya hospital, alleged on 28 January that they were subjected to assault and verbal abuse by a group of policemen who repeatedly attacked them on hospital premises. In the series of events that followed, the Doctors Syndicate harshly condemned the incident an. While the doctors were allegedly subjected to further threats, it forced them to drop the charges against the police officers. In response, the syndicate decided to hold a general assembly to vote on a general strike, calling all of its members across Egypt to come to the syndicates' headquarters Friday. Their stand against attacks on medical staff garnered solidarity from other syndicates, public figures, and doctors. Four-hundred-and-fifty people signed an online petition in support of the syndicate's stance. Ahead of the general assembly, the general prosecution decided to reopen investigation in the case as criticism and tension escalated. Officials at the syndicate have announced that they will consider including other disputes with the state among those issues the general assembly will discuss on Friday as it decides whether to strike.
