Egyptian authorities encourage citizens to report suspected Bloc activity 18 suspects accused of belonging to Egypt’s mysterious Black Bloc activist group were arrested on Thursday, with at least one member being accused of ties with Israel, according to the Prosecutor General’s office .
One suspect was arrested in a building near Tahrir Square, allegedly in possession of maps and documents pertaining to vital facilities in Cairo, including banks and oil companies.
The prosecution's office claimed that the map in question was made in Israel, although they did not mention how did they had reached this conclusion.
Earlier on Thursday, the Egyptian General Prosecution announced that "an Israeli plot targeting petroleum companies and vital sites alongside a map marking the locations and instructions on torching them" was found in possession of a Black Bloc group member being questioned.
A statement issued by the General Prosecution said that the investigation into the "Israeli plot" is being headed by Judge Hisham el-Karmouti. The suspect is facing a number of charges, "including membership of an illegal group, vandalism and intentionally causing damage to public and private properties."
The prosecution said the suspect "confessed to being a member of the Black Bloc group and that he has a secret code." The suspect was apprehended in a block of flats with the help of its porter as the former was trying to enter one of the empty flats, the statment said. He was wearing "the distinctive attire of Black Bloc members."
Another individual was arrested in Mahalla while allegedly negotiating a deal with a garment factory owner to manufacture the black masks and outfits worn by Black Bloc members during protests to keep their identity secret to security operatives. The factory owned reported the suspect to police.
The Mahalla suspect may have been attempting to recruit university students and youth to join the group, prosecutors claimed, claiming that a number of students had testified that the suspect invited them to join the Black Bloc.
The statement praised the citizens' "awareness and cooperation with security apparatus in informing about suspected Black Bloc members,” following a previous statement by the prosecution urging people to do so.
Orders have been given earlier for police and army officers to immediately arrest anyone in a Black Bloc mask.
The Black Bloc meanwhile denied that any of its members had been linked to an Israeli plot targeting key institutions across Egypt, claiming that the individual in question had nothing to do with the organisation.
A statement released on the group's official Facebook page on Thursday evening distanced the organisation from the individuals being detained.
“Those who were arrested in yesterday events are political activists and don’t belong to Black Bloc,” the statement said. “As for the real organisation, neither your Interior Ministry, your President nor your movement can touch us. Not everyone wearing a black mask is a Black Bloc member.”
Commenting on the current turbulence racking the country, Interior Ministry spokesperson Major General Osama Ismail told reporters: "Security agencies have been facing a number of challenges and have worked in very difficult and critical circumstances, which Egypt has never experienced before.”
“The police force belongs to the people, working according to a strategy which is fully on-side with the people and works to maintain their safety and human rights,” Ismail added.
Speaking ahead of another day of nationwide demonstrations, the spokesperson claimed his Ministry respected the right to protest and supported non-violence. Ismail lauded the al-Azhar charter, which called on all political and revolutionary forces to “eschew all forms of violence” by “banding together” to ensure non-violent protest continues.
"The current political scene has cast unprecedented shadows and burdens on the security situation in the country," the Interior Ministry spokesperson said.
Another Ministry spokesperson, Hani Abdellatif, also claimed police forces would protect public and private property in the face of threats from demonstrations. “All political forces must respect the peaceful nature of the demonstrations,” he warned.