By Nourhan Fahmy

CAIRO, Feb 11 (Aswat Masriya) –The East Cairo Prosecution ordered the release of nine Matariya policemen accused of assaulting "two physicians, eight nurses and one security administrator" on Thursday ahead of a planned emergency meeting for the Doctors' Syndicate, rights groups said.

Egypt's Doctors' Syndicate is set to convene an emergency general assembly meeting on Friday, which was called for two weeks ago after policemen reportedly assaulted doctors at the Matariya Teaching Hospital in late January.

Member of the Doctors' Syndicate Khaled Sameer told Aswat Masriya that the release order entails reconsidering escalation and "destroys any trust left" with regards to referring the accused policemen to trial.    

In its latest statement, the syndicate mentioned that investigations have proven the legitimacy of the reported assault, and the prosecution's release order came after it heard the statements of the head of the investigations department of the Matariya police station and his assistant.

The Public Prosecution summoned on Wednesday nine Matariya policemen for investigation. They were accused of assaulting public employees as well as attacking a public facility and defaming and insulting employees while on duty, among others.

The incident took place on Jan. 28 when a citizen in civilian clothing came to the hospital with an injury to the face, asking for a report documenting non-existent injuries along with the actual injury, the Syndicate reported. When the doctor refused to do so, the patient revealed he was a policeman and threatened the doctor with fabricated charges to be filed against him.

A video published by Egyptian news portal Mobtada featured the aforementioned doctor recounting the details of how he was "dragged" and "handcuffed", after he told a low-ranking policeman that his wound was "superficial" and would likely not require stitches.

As tensions escalated, more low-ranking policemen arrived at the hospital and Abdallah was thrown into a vehicle, by which he and a colleague were taken to the police station. 

Member of the Doctors' Syndicate Ahmed Hussein told Aswat Masriya that conducting investigation with the accused policemen is "favourable for the case"; however it should only "serve as a step towards their referral to trial."

Egypt's rights organisations expressed their solidarity with the Egyptian Doctors Syndicate ahead of the emergency meeting.

Thirteen rights organisations, including the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE), called for the speedy investigation and prosecution of the policemen responsible for the assault on doctors in a statement published Thursday.

In the past two weeks, tension has risen between the Doctors Syndicate and the ministry of interior as a result of the reported assault.

Immediately following the incident, the doctors at the Matariya hospital held a week-long strike, after which they decided to resume work at the reception and emergency departments of the hospital.

On Jan. 30, the Doctors Syndicate held an emergency meeting where it called on the minister of interior to suspend the low-ranking policemen accused of the assault and set a deadline, which expires tomorrow, for officials to respond to its demands after which it would resort to escalatory measures including going on a partial or general strike.

Last Friday, the Doctors at the Matariya Teaching Hospital threatened to submit mass resignations to the Minister of Health if alleged police assault on doctors was not investigated. This was preceded by the "forced closure" of the Matariya Hospital and the subsequent order by the prosecution to reopen the hospital in order to resume the provision of health services to citizens. The prosecution stated that the closure accounts as a "crime in the constitution punishable by law."

In an earlier statement on Thursday, the Syndicate viewed the Prosecution's decision on Wednesday to reopen investigation into the incident in a positive light. It further stated that it sticks to its two main demands, namely referring the "assailants" to criminal trial and the need to convene the general assembly to come up with much-needed proposals to prevent the recurrence of similar assaults on doctors.

In parallel, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) published a statement last week describing the Matariya police station as "one of the most dangerous police stations in Egypt in terms of detainees' lives and rights, with at least 14 deaths in custody over the last two years."

The statement came after a torture complaint was filed to the public prosecution by the family of Adel Abd al-Sami who was detained in the Matariya station. Sami died in October while in custody. The interior ministry claims he died of a skin condition, however EIPR asserts that the claim is inconsistent with the injuries found on Sami's skin, which include cigarette burns and lacerations.