Al-Hayat TV aired the video showing the CSF attack on Saber Hamada Saber, the Egyptian man dragged and beaten outside Cairo’s presidential palace, has surprised prosecutors by amending a previous statement on Friday night’s events .
Saber, aged 48, has now confirmed police assaulted him, stripping him of his clothes before dragging him across concrete and repeatedly beating him.
The news follows a televised statement in which Saber denied the claims, blaming protesters for the attack on Saturday, despite a video that has circulated throughout the Internet.
Media personality Mona Shazly also reveleaed that the phone Saber used to talk to her programme live on air, in which he originally denied Central Security Forces’ responsibility, belonged to a public relations officer at the Interior Ministry.
Civil society groups have demanded the resignation of Interior Minster Mohamed Ibrahim, who apologised in an earlier statement and forwarded the case to a public prosecutor.
Heliopolis chief prosecutor Ashraf Hilali reportedly visited a police hospital after security forces transferred Saber there in the wake of the assault.
In an interview which lasted for five hours, Saber acknowledged the attack was perpetrated by security forces, reportedly after prosecutors showed him the video aired by al-Hayat Television on Friday evening.
Chief prosecutor Ibrahim Saleh order the transfer of Saber from a military hospital in Nasr City to a civilian institution, summoning the defendant’s family for further inquiries on Monday.
Faced with contradictory claims and counter-claims, Egyptians have expressed anger in the wake of the Ittiyihada protests.