Within the past few days, Egyptians fed up with years of police brutality and corruption stormed several state security buildings to prevent police from destroying documents that could potentially implicate Egypt’s state police in a litany of crimes including the systematic use of torture.

Egyptian protesters have stormed several state security buildings, seizing documents and attempting to retrieve files kept on alleged human rights abuses in the country.

The 500,000-strong internal security services are accused of some of the worst human rights violations while attempting to suppress dissent against former president Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule.

Protesters stormed inside at least six of the buildings on Saturday, including the agency’s main headquarters in Cairo’s northern Nasr City neighbourhood, confronting and attacking some officers.

The protesters are demanding the agency be dismantled and its leaders be put on trial.

“We are inside, hundreds of us.” Mohammed Abdel-Fattah, one of the protesters who barged into the Nasr City compound on Saturday, told the Associated Press.

“We are fetching documents and we are looking for detainees.”

Around 2,500 people swept into the compound, according to state media.

Abdel-Fattah said they barged in from the back doors, and the military, which had cordoned off the building, could not stop them.

– “Egyptians raid state police offices” (Mar. 5th, 2011), Al Jazeera English

Al Jazeera put together a lengthy video about this story which you can view below. The first three minutes give a brief overview and the rest of the video consists of a panel discussion.