Souad Mekhennet and Nicholas Kulish of the New York Times write about their detention this week by Egypt’s secret police, the Mukhabarat—they saw dozens of other journalists held, and witnessed the far more harsh abuse of Egyptian protesters detained in the same facilities:
Anxiety turned to anticipation when we were driven to a military base. The military had been the closest thing Egypt had to a guarantor of stability and we thought once we explained who we were and provided documentation we would be allowed to go to our hotel.
In a strange exchange that only made sense later, Ms. Mekhennet asked a soldier, “Where are you taking us?” The soldier answered: “My heart goes out to you. I’m sorry.”
2 Detained Reporters Saw Secret Police’s Methods Firsthand (NYT)