Islamist activist discharged after Tahrir Square beating
Zeinab El Gundy , Wednesday 2 Jan 2013
Controversial figure Abdel-Rahman Ezz attacked Tuesday after attempting to visit injured April 6 member


Well-known Islamist activist Abdel-Rahman Ezz has been discharged from hospital after being severely beaten on Tuesday night on Tahrir Square, as he attempted to visit hospitalised April 6 member Mohannad Samir.

The former host at 25 TV, who is widely seen to be a supporter of President Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, was kicked out of Cairo's Ahmed Maher Hospital by friends of Samir.

Samir is in critical condition after been gunned down by unknown assailants on Tahrir Square two days ago.

According to Ezz’s friends, after being ejected from the hospital, the Islamist activist was then forcibly taken to Tahrir where he was badly beaten before being transferred to the emergency rooms of El-Helal Hospital in downtown Cairo.

Supporters of Ezz have reportedly threatened to avenge his attack.

Tahrir activists and protesters accuse Ezz of using his Twitter account to incite violence against last month's opposition sit-in outside the Heliopolis presidential palace.

He is also charged with targeting prominent opposition activists during the ensuing 6 December clashes outside the presidential building by pointing them out to Muslim Brotherhood supporters using a laser pen. The bloody street battles between the rival protest groups left nine dead.

Several political forces claim Ezz lead the recent arson attack against the Wafd Party headquarters after he was filmed leading the protest heading to the liberal party's building in the Dokki area.

In response to his assault, Abdel-Rahman Ezz’s family has accused 6 April Youth Movement of attacking Ezz in Tahrir Square and hiring thugs to beat him up.

Ezz asserts that he was among the founding members of the famous political movement, however, Mohamed Adel, April 6 spokesperson, denied the claims via his official Twitter account.

Adel insists Ezz joined the group in 2010 but was later expelled.

In the summer of 2011, Abdel-Rahman Ezz and other defected members formed a splinter group 6 April Youth Movement: The Democratic Front, but Ezz was later debarred from this as well.

During the presidential elections Ezz joined the "Hazemoon" movement backing ultra-conservative Salafist candidate Hazem Salah Abu-Ismail, who was later disqualified due issues concerning his mother's nationality.

https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/61677.aspx