Fifteen people were arrested for their alleged involvement in an armed car hijack on cofounder and spokesman of Tamarod (Rebel) campaign Mahmoud Badr, a security source told state news agency MENA early on Tuesday.
Badr, who also currently sits on the 50-member constitution committee, was on his way home in Qalioubiya Governorate on Monday evening when armed assailants forcibly stopped him on the road. They stole his car and belongings.
Badr was not hurt in the incident. Mohamed Heikal, leading member of Tamarod, told Ahram Arabic news website on Monday that the accident was apolitical and “did not intentionally target Badr or Tamarod.”
The site where Badr was attacked is notorious for car hijackings, according to MENA’s security source.
Tamarod spearheaded the calls for the 30 June popular mass uprising that led to the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi by the military on 3 July.
Egypt has been witnessing an increased rate of theft and hijacking incidents on the roads over the past two years amid a deteriorating security situation.