Riots erupted in a town south of Cairo on Thursday when a woman died of wounds sustained after she refused to allow police into her home during a raid in search of her brother. According to eyewitnesses crowds of citizens set a police vehicle ablaze, attacked them with clubs and stones after Mervat Abdul Salam Abdul Fattah, who was pregnant, died during the raid on her home. Initial reports said the woman was pushed to the ground by officers after she would not give them access to her home. They were searching for her brother, who is a suspected thief, police reported. Fattah, who was in the late stages of her pregnancy, died of internal bleeding caused by the fall, police said. After the news spread across the town, citizens began to riot, beating police with clubs and setting fire to the truck. One officer was taken to a local hospital with injuries. Human rights groups, who have long argued that police brutality is widespread in Egypt, condemned the police action. Police have said these are isolated cases and have denied that it is systemic. They claim all cases are prosecuted with diligence.
