Hundreds of Egyptian doctors rallied in front of the doctors’ syndicate Friday where an emergency general assembly meeting is being held.
The meeting was called for two weeks ago after policemen purportedly assaulted doctors at the Matariya Teaching Hospital.
The attack goes back to Jan. 28 when two low-ranking policemen in civilian clothing came to the hospital, one of them reportedly sustaining an injury to the face.
The injured man asked the doctors for a report documenting non-existent injuries along with the actual injury, said Ahmed Abdallah, one of the doctors attacked said in a video published by Egyptian news portal Mobtada.
In the video Abdallah recounted 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.
He also said that several other low-ranking policemen, which he estimated to be around "eight or nine," arrived at the scene and held both Abdallah and the other doctor.
The prosecution released on Thursday the nine policemen who were accused of assaulting the two doctors.
In reaction to the attack, doctors at Matariya Teaching Hospital said last Friday they will submit their resignation to the Minister of Health if alleged police assault on doctors is not investigated.
On Jan. 30, the syndicate set a deadline, which expires on Feb. 12, for officials to respond to its demands which include that interior minister suspends the low-ranking policemen believed to be involved in the assault.
Thirteen rights groups, including the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE), expressed in a Thursday statement "their full solidarity" with the doctors' syndicate and called for a "speedy investigation."
The groups also demanded that all legal measures be taken
