SCAF to probe recent police abuse in Cairo

CAIRO, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Military leaders in Egypt called on said prosecutors to look into claims police used excessive force during clashes surrounding recent elections.

Egyptian Maj. Gen. Adel Amara, a member of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, had said security forces were acting in self defense during clashes in October and November. The public prosecutor, however, challenged those statements and referred them to justice officials for further investigation.

Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, leader of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, said military prosecutors were called on to investigate reports of police violence during recent clashes, Egyptian news agency al-Ahram reports.

Human Rights Watch said at least 12 people were killed and around 500 injured in clashes with security forces. Violence and sexual assaults on women, the rights organization said, is becoming a problematic trend.

The Egyptian news agency reports the offices of several non-governmental organizations were raided by security forces Thursday.

Officials at Cairo's Freedom and Expression Center said the government may be examining illicit foreign funding of the NGO's though activists said the raids were unprecedented.

Meanwhile, a criminal court in Cairo cleared five police officers of charges of killing protesters during the country's revolution in early 2011.

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is on trial for his alleged role in the death of civilians during the revolution and prosecutors this week said they wanted to review surveillance tapes that show police firing on demonstrators in Cairo's central Tahrir Square.