Mathew uploaded to his flickr account some pictures he took of the violence that engulfed downtown Cairo on 21 March 2003, following the outbreak of the US-led war on Iraq. More than 40,000 took control of downtown, but the scene went down into chaos with the severe police brutality against demonstrators.

Several friends of mine were detained on that day, and tortured. I was arrested afternoon of the following day, 22 March, and taken to Gamaliya Police Station with dozens of detainees picked up randomly in Tahrir Square, then transfered to State Security HQ in Lazoughli, before I was released by 3am. One week later, the director of the Government Press Center Attiya Shakran revoked my official Press Card saying he was acting on “orders from State Security.” Since then, I applied three times for credentials only to be turned down.

These were the biggest demos the capital has witnessed since the January 1977 Bread Intifada.

You can read more about those events in this HRW report.

I take my hat off to Mathew and thank him for his bravery. The photos he took on that day have become iconic, helping to expose the brutality of Mubarak’s Gestapo…