CAIRO: Three men detained in connection with the events of April 6 in Mahalla were released Saturday, lawyer Ahmed Ezzat told Daily News Egypt. Kamel El-Fayyoumy, Karim El-Beheiry and Tareq Amin arrived home at 1 am early Sunday morning after their release, said Ezzat. The men were being held in the Borg El-Arab prison where they had launched a hunger strike in protest at their detention. El-Beheiry was arrested after he received a phone call from someone claiming to be from the BBC who requested a meeting. When he, together with Amin, went to the meeting point both men were arrested by members of state security. El-Fayyoumy was arrested separately. El-Beheiry said in a joint letter subsequently sent out by the three men that he was tortured while being held at the Mahalla state security headquarters on April 7. All three men were involved in the organization of a strike in the Ghazl El-Mahalla factory planned for the same day, which collapsed following worker disunity and intimidation by security bodies. Violence subsequently erupted in the Delta town after security bodies clashed with residents protesting increasing food prices. El-Fayyoumy, Amin and El-Beheiry were dismissed from their employment in the factory shortly after their arrest. A court ordered their release on the April 21 during its examination of the cases of 204 individuals arrested in connection with the events in Mahalla. Twenty-five of this group of 204 were issued detention orders after the court ordered their release - including El-Beheiry, El-Fayyoumy and Amin. The Interior Ministry ordered the release of a total of 11 individuals on Saturday arrested in connection with the events in Mahalla. Sami Francis and Fathy Hefnawy remain in El-Marg prison, Cairo. The two men are members of opposition group Kefaya and were arrested on charges of inciting the April 6 general strike. The strike was called for by opposition political parties and other activists via Facebook, in protest against corruption and rising food prices. In addition, 42 individuals remain in preventative custody in connection with the events of Mahalla. The release of 10 of these 42 individuals was ordered yesterday at 2 pm. They were in the El-Gharbeyya security division in preparation for their release at time of press. This group have been charged with rioting, illegal possession of firearms and theft, among other charges. Following the events in Mahalla - during which a 15-year-old boy standing on a third floor balcony was shot dead, allegedly killed by police using live ammunition - state-run newspaper and television reports stated that the violence which erupted in the Delta town was caused by rioting criminals. Rights groups and members of the independent media who witnessed the events allege that the police used unnecessary force against a peaceful, unplanned demonstration against rising food prices which had emerged spontaneously. State-run media pointed to the damage committed against a school in Mahalla in support of government claims that the crowds which gathered on April 6 and 7 did so in order to commit criminal acts. However, eyewitnesses interviewed by Daily News Egypt in April alleged that the damage to the school and the theft of its equipment occurred while police forces watched, and that the vandalism was in fact, orchestrated. Ezzat alleges that the group are victims of trumped-up charges. Also still in detention is Mohamed Marei. Marei was arrested in Mahalla with US photojournalist James Buck on April 10. He has been moved from the Borg El-Arab prison to Mansoura prison, where he is being allowed to sit exams. Marei, a student of veterinary science, was translating for Buck when both men were detained while speaking to relatives of the hundreds detained on April 6 and 7. While Buck was eventually released, Marei was not. He subsequently disappeared before being taken to Borg El-Arab prison, where he is being held on charges of riotous assembly with more than five people of a nature to disturb public order.
