<p>Scores of plainclothes security officers charged the demonstrators assembled outside the Interior Ministry to demand the release of political prisoners, a Reuters witness said. One demonstrator suffered a gash on his head, others were beaten and at least 15 were detained. <br /><br />The gathering in Marjeh square, an Ottoman-era square in the centre of the capital, had been silent, with protesters raising pictures of imprisoned relatives and friends, before security forces started hitting them with their batons. <br /><br />The protesters dispersed after the attack, and security forces continued arresting more people, shoving them into a bus and a darkened van. An interior ministry official said “infiltrators” had tried to stir chaos in front of the ministry.</p>
<p>Scores of plainclothes security officers charged the demonstrators assembled outside the Interior Ministry to demand the release of political prisoners, a Reuters witness said. One demonstrator suffered a gash on his head, others were beaten and at least 15 were detained. <br /><br />The gathering in Marjeh square, an Ottoman-era square in the centre of the capital, had been silent, with protesters raising pictures of imprisoned relatives and friends, before security forces started hitting them with their batons. <br /><br />The protesters dispersed after the attack, and security forces continued arresting more people, shoving them into a bus and a darkened van. An interior ministry official said “infiltrators” had tried to stir chaos in front of the ministry.</p>