Vigilante Justice in Egypt

Newsday reports that 2 alleged thieves were lynched in the town of Samanod which is approximately 55 miles north of Cairo in the Nile Delta providence of Gharbiya.  Egyptian vigilantes caught the two men accused of stealing on March 17, 2013, beat them and then hung them by their feet while an angry crowd yelled repeatedly to kill them.  According to officials both men died.  The men were accused of stealing a motorized rickshaw.  A motorized rickshaw is comparable to a bike taxi however being motorized.

What contributed to this action from the vigilantes was the attorney general’s office letting civilians know that they should arrest law breakers and give them to police.  It is likely this was not what the attorney general’s office was expecting as a result of their statement.  This apparently was one of the worst cases of vigilante justice in two years.  Pictures of the lynchings have quickly circulated the internet, Facebook and a variety of social media platforms.   Thousands apparently watched and recorded the lynchings as it took place.

Mamdouh al-Muneer who is a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood group told The Associated Press that the lynching came after several rapes had happened in the area and after girls had been taken against their will after leaving school.  He also said that the police were basically out of the picture in Gharbiya as they aren’t comfortable with their position or their role after the uprising.

I can only imagine that the people in the area were fed up and had enough of what was happening and had to take things into their own hands just to help bring some sort of order to the area.  If the police can’t or won’t’ do their job then someone or a group of people must bring order or there will be chaos.

For more information visit Newsday.