US troops admit abusing Iraqis

Posted on By 3arabawy

From Al-Jazeera:

Almost one in ten US combat troops deployed in Iraq have mistreated a civilian, according to a new survey conducted by an army mental health advisory team.
The report, released on Friday, also found that less than half of the soldiers and marines surveyed would report a fellow serviceman for killing or injuring an innocent Iraqi…
More than a third of the 1,320 soldiers and 447 marines surveyed said that torture should be allowed to save the life of a fellow soldier or marine, while almost 38 per cent said torture should be allowed in order to gather “important information about insurgents”…
The survey showed only 47 per cent of soldiers and 38 per cent of marines agreed that non-combatants should be treated with dignity and respect.

Public Transportation workers on strike

Posted on By 3arabawy

Photographer Amr Abdallah managed to take some photos of the strike by drivers, bus clerks, and maintenance workers of the Public Transportation Authorities in Nasr City on Wednesday.

Public transportation workers on strike إضراب عمال النقل العام

Amr was not allowed into the station, which was under the police siege. He managed to meet up with some of the strikers’ colleagues outside.

Interior Ministry to compensate former Islamist detainees

Posted on By 3arabawy

From the Daily Star Egypt…

The Ministry of Interior has finally agreed to release the required financial compensation to the freed former Islamist detainees who have court orders indicating their right to financial compensation, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported.
“Those ex-prisoners are getting compensation for spending more than 15 years in jail without trial,” Diaa Rashwan, a political expert on Islamic movements at Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies told The Daily Star Egypt.
The Ministry of Interior, after suspending the payment for around five years, is expected to hand out between LE 15,000 to LE 30,000 for every detainee.
There are more than 15,000 ex-detainees who have court orders proving their right to financial compensation, reported Al-Masry Al-Youm.
But the ministry did not announce the exact number of ex-detainees who will be allowed to receive their compensation.
Rashwan also indicated that he personally knows some of the ex-prisoners and said that some of them “were jailed when they were 16 and came out when they were 32 years old.”
“And in some other cases, they received more than 30 not guilty verdicts and were set free then were arrested once more under emergency law,” Rashwan said.