Belgian journalist Serge Dumont arrested and beaten

Belgian journalist Serge Dumont, the Middle East correspondent of three newspapers – Belgium’s Le Soir, Switzerland’s Le Temps and France’s La Voix du Nord – was arrested and beaten by men in plain-clothes at midday while in the central neighbourhood of Choubra. He was then taken to a military post, where he was accused of “spying” and was told he would be handed over to the security services. In a phone call with Le Soir, Dumont said: “It was heavy-handed and violent. I was hit several times in the face. They claimed I was pro-Baradei. I was then taken to one of the military barracks on the outskirts of the city. I was given a glass of water from the Nile, they told me, so that I would catch diarrhoea. I am being guarded by two soldiers with Kalashnikovs and bayonets. They say I will be taken before the intelligence services. They say I am a spy.” He was released in the late afternoon of 3 February.