Egypt's security forces arrest 3 men in Suez stabbing case

Suez security forces arrested three men, Thursday, suspected of murdering 20-year-old engineering student Ahmed Hussein Eid who was stabbed to death in the Egyptian Suez Canal city, Sunday, while walking down a street with his fiancée .

General Adel-Refaat, chief of the Suez Security Directorate, told Al-Ahram's Arabic language news portal that the security forces exerted "enormous effort" in detaining the three suspects "to assure the people of Suez that, as promised, we care for their safety."

According to eyewitnesses, Eid was attacked by three men with long beards wearing galabiyas – garb generally associated with Salafi Muslims – whilst in the company of his fiancée near the centrally-located Arbeen Square.

This has sparked fears of "moral" vigilantism, particularly as the ultra-conservative Salafist Nour Party won the largest number of votes in Suez during last year's parliamentary polls.

"The attackers shouted at him, demanding to know his relationship with the woman he was with," Eid's father said in a video testimony currently circulating social-media networks. "He replied that it was none of their business."

During the ensuing argument one of the men reportedly stabbed Eid between his legs. The young man was then taken to Suez Hospital for treatment before being transferred to a different medical centre in nearby Ismailia where he eventually succumbed to his injuries.

Saad Khalifa, head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s administrative office, condemned the act on Tuesday, calling the culprits "outlaws" and demanding a thorough investigation of the incident.

Liberal and leftists forces, including the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Arab Nasserist Party, the Wafd Party, the Tagammu Party, April 6 Youth Movement, the National Association for Change and Mohamed ElBaradei's supporters' campaign, also issued a joint statement, Tuesday, expressing solidarity with the victim.

Police have yet to confirm whether or not the defendants are Salafi Islamists or if they are associated with a particular Islamist group.