The Egyptian Journalist Syndicate on Monday released a statement slamming the use of violence by security forces against five journalists in Alexandria.

The journalists, who work for a variety of Egyptian newspapers – including El-Akhbar, El-Shorouk, El-Tahrir and the MENA news agency – were attacked on Sunday while covering clashes between protesters and security forces.

According to the syndicate statement, one journalist was detained, forced to strip, blindfolded, and then beaten with a wooden stick for five hours. He was also verbally abused and robbed of money.

Syndicate officials are demanding that the interior minister investigate the incident, reveal the identity of the officers involved, and put them all on trial immediately. The syndicate went on to stress that the ministry bore full responsibility for all violations committed against journalists within the last three days.

The syndicate is currently in the process of documenting all reported violations and plans to present a formal complaint about the issue to judicial authorities.

The last few days have seen several attacks on reporters covering ongoing clashes, including an assault on Ahram Online journalist Ahmed Feteha, who was robbed and beaten twice while covering a standoff between protesters and police in downtown Cairo.