Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

The Egyptian Parliament witnessed hot confrontations between Egyptian

Interior Minister Habīb al

-‘Ādlī and a number of lawmakers of the Muslim Brotherhood

over a number of

issues.

The minister faced the Islamists inside the Committee of Defense and

National Security, during which

he refuted accusations made against the ministry about torturing citizens

and dispersing protesters by force, the

two authors said. Islamic lawmakers particularly criticized the

torturing of citizens by the police forces, an

allegation that was totally rejected by the

minister.

Al- ^cĀdlī asserted that the

role of the security forces was not just

limited to confronting illegal demonstrations but also to securing public

properties and to protecting

protesters’ lives.

He also denied claims made by the Muslim Brotherhood that

the results of recent

legislative elections were forged; underling that he would not allow for any illegal activity

that could

destabilize the country.

The Muslim Brotherhood and other members of the committee also suggested

that budgetary allocations for anti-riot police were too big: more than 45 billion had been spent in the

past 11

years for this purpose. However the minister denied this and stated that in fact less than 4 million

pounds had

been spent since 1999.