Slain activist's funeral march leads to attack on Tanta

During funeral march for activist Mohamed El-Gendy, allegedly tortured to death by police, angry protesters attack governor's office, police station; Security forces respond with teargas Protesters at a funeral march held for slain activist Mohamed El-Gendy, who was allegedly tortured to death by police following recent anti-government demonstrations, attempted to storm the Tanta Police Station and the Gharbiya Security Directorate on Monday evening. According to El-Gendy's friends and relatives, the activist died after being subject to torture while in police custody following his arrest at a 27 January protest in Cairo's Tahrir Square. El-Gendy, a 28-year-old member of the Egyptian Popular Current, died at the Helal Hospital on Monday morning, where he had been transferred to the intensive care unit. According to health ministry spokesman Ahmed Omar, the activist had been suffering from low blood pressure, a suspected brain haemorrhage and a brain effusion when he was admitted to hospital. During Monday's funeral march in Tanta, a handful of protesters also reportedly attacked the local governor's office with rocks. Other marchers, however, managed to deter them from further escalating the situation. After the march, protesters regrouped outside the Tanta Police Station at which they threw Molotov cocktails. Police responded by firing teargas to disperse the crowds. Hundreds participated in a funeral march for El-Gendy on Monday afternoon in Tahrir Square, where protesters' chants included calls for "retribution." The family then transported El-Gendy's body to his hometown Tanta, in the central Delta, for final burial. The government has yet to issue an official report on El-Gendy's death. From Ahramonline