The Egyptian Lawyers Syndicate's North Cairo branch on Sunday issued demands for an immediate investigation into Friday's clashes between police forces and lawyers in Cairo's Nasr City district, along with a formal apology by the interior minister to lawyers hurt in the clashes.

Friday's disturbances were reportedly triggered by an altercation between a lawyer and a low-ranking police officer at the Nasr City Police Station late Thursday night. By Friday afternoon, 16 people – eight attorneys and eight policemen – had been injured in limited fighting between the two groups.

Scores of lawyers have been holding an open-ended sit-in in front of the police station since Friday.

Egyptian Lawyers Syndicate head Sameh Ashour has said that Egyptian attorneys countrywide would refrain from providing legal representation to any policemen or officers – whatever the charges – until police involved in Friday's clashes were prosecuted.

As a result, lawyers for policemen accused of involvement in February's Port Said stadium massacre, in which dozens were killed and hundreds injured, have reportedly refused to defend their clients in court.

A number of Egyptian policemen currently face charges of involvement in the murder of unarmed anti-regime protesters during last year's Tahrir Square uprising. Some have been acquitted, while others continue to face charges.