Egypt

Six suspects detained following Alexandria mosque clashes

The Atamin district Public Prosecution office in Alexandria on Sunday decided to hold five people, including two minors, for further investigation after they were arrested during clashes outside Al-Qaed Ibrahim Mosque on Friday.

Clashes broke out after Friday prayers, at which Sheikh Ahmed al-Mahalawy called on attendees to vote “yes” in the constitutional referendum, which was held the next day. In the early hours of Saturday morning, security forces managed to release Mahalawy, along with some 100 others that had been trapped in the mosque for 15 hours, through its back gate.

On the same day, the Bab Sharq district Public Prosecution office decided to hold a 23-year-old university student accused of being in possession of an automatic weapon for four days for further investigation. District residents reportedly seized the man after finding him holding the weapon in front of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

According to the investigation, the defendant said he had received an order from the head of a group he belongs to — he did not specify the group — to help Mahalawy escape from the mosque.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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