CAIRO - Mohamed Abdel-Moniem a non-commissioned officer at el-Zawya el-Hamra police station in Cairo is facing a capital sentence for his random shooting of protesters on January 28 that left l8 dead. Mohamed, alias el-Sunni, who has not shown up in court, is supposed to stand trial on June 4 in another shooting case, in which he is accused of killing a further l5 demonstrators outside the police station on the same day. The fugitive is the first member of the police to be sentenced following the deadly clashes between the police and civilians that took place in Egypt on January 28, the day that was termed the Friday of Anger. According to eyewitnesses, el-Sunni was standing just inside the entrance to the station when he shot randomly at scores of angry demonstrators that were trying to break into the station. This chaotic scene of a gun being fired and a police station being set ablaze was not peculiar to the populous Cairo district of el-Zawya el-Hamra, but was part of a pre-set scenario, according to Ministry of the Interior investigations, that was repeated in many police stations throughout the country. As much as the court ruling relieved the bereaved families, it was devastating for the family members of el-Sunni who claim his innocence. While on the run, he has, however, chosen to break his silence to give his side of the story, although not to the judge but to Al-Ahram Arabic newspaper. He has apparently taken the advice of his lawyer not to turn himself in for the time being because, as he was quoted as saying, he has been a scapegoat for the public and the Ministry of Interior. He pleads innocent and believes his lawyer would be capable of saving him from the gallows. According to el-Sunni, his gun was not loaded with live ammunition but with a cartouche that causes little harm. While he received direct orders from his superior officer to shoot whoever approached the station, el-Sunni says that he tried to convince his colleagues not to use live bullets. He exclaimed, how could he shoot at demonstrators most of whom were dwellers of the district in which he himself has been residing for years! “Those were my neighbours”, he stated, but did not deny firing the cartouche to disperse the scores that were attacking the station with Molotov Cocktails to set fire to it. Furthermore, he pointed out that officers on duty at that time took shots with their mobile cameras of six unknown snipers, who were stationed on the roof of the station building. El-Sunni claimed that they were shooting with automatic guns in the direction of the demonstrators. He also referred in this respect to the fact-finding committee report prepared by human right organisations, which affirmed that armed men, outside the police cadet, were seen on rooftops of police stations across the country. The question that presents itself in this case is why el-Sunni in particular? According to his own explanation, he was in the forefront of the confrontations with the protesters, while some officers were stationed in a narrow lane separating the police station and an adjacent building and the rest of the force were shooting from the windows of the fourth floor. As such their identity was not as evident as his. El-Sunni threw a bombshell in his interview with Al-Ahram by saying that he was injured in the head and foot and so headed to the nearest hospital at around 5.00 p.m., after which time most victims were reported to have died in the el-Zawya el-Hamra clashes. He, moreover, referred to false reports against officers who were not even present at the station at the time of these incidents as they were on duty elsewhere. Sympathising with the families of the martyrs of the revolution, el-Sunni still believes that members of the police force that were engaged with protesters were actually defending public installations as well as their own lives. To him and to other members of the police there is evidence that the attacks on police stations on January 28 were fulfilling an organised plan, which was implemented by hired groups not by protesters whose sole aim was to topple the regime not destroy the country.
