Many similar incidents of abuse in custody have been reported in the past two years, according to a January 2015 report by the United Group, an independent Egyptian human rights law firm. The report, which covered October 2013 to August 2014, said that United Group lawyers had interviewed 465 alleged victims of police torture and ill treatment and had filed 163 complaints to prosecutors, of which only seven reached the courts. Of the other cases, 69 remain under investigation and 87 were rejected by prosecutors, the report said.
Shehata’s arrest was simultaneous with wider security raids to counter protests planned by the conservative Islamist group Salafi Front, which organizers dubbed a “Muslim Youth Revolution” on Facebook. On November 28, police arrested tens of protesters in Friday confrontations with security forces which turned violent in Matarya district, northeast of Cairo, leading to the death of two civilians and one army officer. Two army officers were also killed that day in separate shooting incidents in Alexandria and Suez, according to media reports.