CAIRO: An NGO was recently launched to repair relations between Egypt’s citizens and its police force, it was announced Thursday.

Named “Police and People” and created by former Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, the organization aims to bridge the ever widening gap between the police and citizens, as well as foster awareness about the proper role for each.

Maher said that the organization’s objective is “to work on removing any disagreements between police and citizens and putting in place a researched work method that would eradicate any transgressions on the part of the police or officers of the Interior Ministry.”  

Maher added that another of the organization’s imperative goals was to break the current psychological barrier between the police and the people.

As has been evident in the Duweiqa rockslide disaster, there is currently a lot of antagonism between citizens and the state police force, which comprises many different departments including the notorious State Security forces.

All police forces with the exception of the military police are under the umbrella of the Ministry of Interior.

Human rights groups and observers say that police brutality is an endemic problem in Egypt, and cases of torture at the hands of the various police departments are common.

Members of this new group are comprised mainly of businessmen and ex-ministers and include former Minister of State for the Environment Nadia Makram Ebeid and Sherif Esmat Abdel-Meguid, son of the former Prime Minister.