Police chased street vendors in Downtown Cairo on Monday who challenged a government decision to move them to the Gateway Plaza-Torgoman area and returned to subway stations and side streets.
Some street peddlers were arrested and their goods confiscated, charged with defying authorities, inciting riots and harassment.
Their relatives, who did not have money to bail them out, threatened to protest in front of the city headquarters.
Ramadan al-Sawy, representative of the vendors of Qasr al-Nil Street, accused the shop owners downtown of collaborating with the police against them after the government threatened to withdraw their licenses if they allowed the vendors sell their goods in front of their shops.
He added that the authorities moved the vendors of Talaat Harb Street, Qasr al-Nil Street and 26 July Street and left those in Attaba and Ramses.
“There they pay 100 pounds for a place to display their goods,” he said.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
