A recent Al Masry Al Youm report, titled “Inside the Brotherhood Torture Rooms at Itihadiya [one of the presidential palaces]”written during last week’s protests indicates how Egyptian police appear paralyzed before the Muslim Brotherhood’s violence and how the attacks on Mina Philip – who was stripped naked and violently beat – were part of a planned and organized attack by the Brotherhood. Reporters spent 3 hours inside the Muslim Brotherhood “torture chambers” next to the Itihadiya Palace. “We were able to enter after an introduction was made by a Brotherhood channel.”
According to the report, the main room has about 15 Muslim Brotherhood well-built men, along with policemen and 3 Brotherhood men in suits, the men in suits decide who gets to be in the room at all times. The process starts with the capture of a protestor opposed to President Morsi or one is suspected of being a demonstrator. The Brotherhood members start beating the person up as a group all over his body then they drag him to a nearby chamber where they take off his shirt and take his wallet, money and phone. They later start interrogating him while beating him up and accusing him of receiving funds from opposition members. They sometimes call their channel to film the “capture of thugs.” Later, he is taken to the main room where he is beaten up again and his clothes are torn. His ID is given to a Brotherhood lawyer who takes down his information. Later, the lawyer would give the person’s ID to the police officer on the scene.
People in the room were in bad medical conditions, some were bleeding profusely with no medical attention. Finally, police were seen asking the Brotherhood members for safe passage to those they were taking to the police station so they wouldn’t get beaten again by the Brotherhood members as they were taken out.
Translated and summarized by Coptic Solidarity; Al Masry Al Youm