On Feb. 27, about 50 Bedouin women demonstrated in front of the
provincial government in the northern Sinai capital of El Arish. The women
demanded freedom for their sons and husbands in a crackdown by Egyptian
authorities over the last two years.
The demonstration was dispersed by security forces without incident.
Regional officials told the Bedouin protesters that the cases of the
detainees would be reviewed.
Other protests were also reported in northern Sinai in late February.
They included demands for the release of women who disappeared from their
homes in late 2009.
The sources said about 5,000 Bedouins were arrested during a crackdown
in wake of bombings in southern Sinai between 2004 and 2006. They said the
lion's share of detainees has been released.
The Sinai demonstrations have been accompanied by shootouts between
Egyptian police and Bedouin smugglers. In February, Bedouin gunmen ambushed
a van with detainees and killed two police officers.
Bedouin protesters said authorities have been holding their relatives
for months without trial or formal charges. Many of the detainees were said
to have undergone investigation on suspicion of being linked to the huge
Palestinian tunnel smuggling network in the neighboring Gaza Strip. Under
Egyptian emergency law, security detainees can be held without charges
indefinitely.
