Protesters describe effects of allegedly poisonous Tahrir Square tear gas
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According to several of our Observers who have been taking part in protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the tear gas used by police has had a devastating effect on protesters. Concerns over the substance’s dangerous effects and its legality have spread rapidly on the Egyptian Web.
According to several of our Observers who have been taking part in protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the tear gas used by police has had a devastating effect on protesters. Concerns over the substance’s dangerous effects and its legality have spread rapidly on the Egyptian Web.
This is the kind of message that has been circulating among Egyptians on Twitter in recent days: “It’s been a day and I'm still suffering from this damned gas that only God knows what it has [in it], I feel dizzy and sick” (@Fellfelaa). Mohamed El Baradei, the former director of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a candidate in the Egyptian presidential elections, went on Twitter to denounce the use of tear gas containing nerve agents against protesters.
Many Web users suspect police are using a gas called dibenzoxazepine, also known as CR, whose effects are six to ten times stronger than those of the CS gases, which are usually used. CR gases are normally used in warfare, not domestic police operations.
On Wednesday, a call to photograph the tear gas capsules found in Tahrir Square was launched on Facebook and Twitter. Web users in Cairo have posted photos of capsules that appear to have been made in the United States, some of them over 20 years ago. According to the group Campaign Against Arms Trade, gas canisters older than five years can become more toxic.
In Tahrir Square, ambulances are constantly coming and going. This video shows some injured patients throwing up, others unconscious.
“The techniques we normally use to lessen the effects of tear gas aren’t working this time”
Bilal Said is a doctor who has been tending to the wounded in Tahrir square. He also participated in the protest movement in January 2011.
The smoke from the tear gas canisters used in recent days is much less white – therefore much less visible – than the ones used in January. It causes breathing difficulties much more quickly and its effects last longer. It also causes vomiting and convulsions.
The techniques we normally used to lessen the effects of tear gas aren’t working this time. I continue to tell protesters to spray their face with vinegar or baking soda mixed with water, but it’s not that effective.
I’m not exactly sure what kind of tear gas is being used. Some say they are simply capsules that are past their expiration date. If that is the case, they are very a dangerous, because after a certain period of time the chemical components in tear gas can modify and cause unexpected reactions."
This photo of gas masks was posted on Twitter by one of our Observers in Cairo, Ramy Raoof.
“Sometimes a single one of these canisters has the effect of ten normal ones”
Sherif Gaber is an activist. He lives in Cairo.
I took this photo on Saturday evening while the protests were going on in Tahrir Square. Heading there, we saw hundreds of canisters marked ‘Made in the USA’, of the brand Combined Systems Incorporated. It must be the main brand used by police here.
Photo posted on Twitter by Sherif Gaber on Saturday.
I wasn’t all that surprised. Egypt and the United States have had military and trade cooperation for years. The US gives 1.3 billion euros in aid every year, and that money goes mainly to the Egyptian army. In return, a lot of military supplies are purchased in the United States.
I posted this photo online for American leaders to realise that one of their companies is responsible for the brutal repression perpetrated by the Egyptian police, and even for the death of protesters. Three people died of suffocation during recent protests – we know thanks to the autopsy reports and the accounts of doctors present in Tahrir Square [France 24 could not independently verify this figure].
“I have seen friends convulse and become unable to speak”
Obviously, the effects of this tear gas are more violent than before. In some cases, it may be possible that police are launching dozens of canisters at once. But I’ve also seen a single canister have a devastating effect. Some people are talking about CR gas, but that remains unconfirmed. It’s hard examine capsules once they have exploded.
I have personally experienced unusually strong symptoms after being exposed to tear gas, such as nausea and vertigo. I almost fainted. I have seen friends begin convulse and become unable to speak."
A protester took this photo of a tear gas canister he says he found in Tahrir Square. It is marked “1985”, which seems to show that protesters may be exposed to tear gas past its expiration date.
