Helwan Brigades prisoners used pins to escape: investigations

CAIRO – 28 August 2017: Details on the “Helwan Brigades” prisoners’ attempt to escape Tora prison were revealed after few hours of investigations with the perpetrators Monday.

The prisoners planned to escape the transport vehicle while being transferred from court to prison.

According to twelve-hour investigations, the accused had planned it for about three months. They had identified the vehicle’s weak points, the number of guards, the road they usually take, and the most appropriate place to carry out the plan.

Prisoners could escape the vehicle using pins and an iron rod. Twenty prisoners could pick their way out of handcuffs, according to the confessions, using only pins.

The accused face charges of aiding and abetting escapee prisoners, resisting authority, and public property damage. These crimes are worthy of the death penalty.

The chaos began on the Autostrad in a suburb of Cairo. After an officer was shot during the incident, one prisoner stole the policeman’s revolver.

The security forces arrested five out of seven fugitives. One prisoner was shot in the leg during a police chase.

Some of the members belong to a self-proclaimed group called the Helwan Brigades. They were arrested and released a video on social media networks on August 14, 2014. Twelve masked men were taped saying they were fed up with the Muslim Brotherhood’s peacefulness and vowed to attack all police facilities in Cairo.