Egyptian riot police broke up protests held in support of two judges who are facing disciplinary action after they claimed election fraud.
The judges had boycotted their disciplinary hearing scheduled for today in protest at the treatment of the demonstrators.
At least eight people were arrested during the scuffles. Al-Jazeera television said one of its cameramen was beaten by security forces.
The Egyptian government has taken a tough new line against pro-democracy activists who have rallied around the judges and accuse President Hosni Mubarak of backing-off promised reforms.
In recent weeks, 48 activists have been arrested during demonstrations to support the judges.
The scuffles began after riot police cordoned off streets leading to the court then began pushing back protesters and journalists. When the protesters ran away, police chased them and grabbed some, dragging them toward trucks.
Hundreds of protesters tried to gather in several other locations around downtown Cairo. In one square, about 50 people chanted slogans and held banners in support of the judges, witnesses said.
Nearly 200 plainclothes policemen swarmed into the square and chased the activists, punching at them, the witnesses said.
Police severely beat a cameraman for Al-Jazeera in his face and confiscated his camera and tape, said Lina el-Ghadban, a reporter from the network.
An Associated Press reporter who was covering the protest and trying to get into the hearing was pushed to the ground and stepped on by uniformed police after being caught up in the crowd. Another photographer also had his camera smashed and a TV cameraman was knocked to the ground and had his camera confiscated.
The disciplinary hearing for the two judges, Hisham el-Bastiwisy and Mahmoud Mekki, was postponed until next Thursday.
The two judges from the Court of Cassation, Egypt's highest court were referred to the disciplinary board after they spoke to the media and about their allegations of fraud in Egypt's parliamentary elections in November and December.
"We didn't attend today because all the measures taken violate the law. This is not a trial, this is a scandal, so we protested and walked away," el-Bastiwisy said.
The uproar over the judges comes amid widespread disappointment over the government's promises of reform. The government had allowed an unprecedented wave of protests by pro-democracy activists early last year and promised changes to promote democracy in this close US ally.
But the parliament elections were marred by violence that killed 14 people and allegations of fraud, and security forces in many cases barricaded polling sites to prevent opposition supporters from voting. Since then, the government has put off scheduled local elections for two years and renewed emergency laws that it had promised to lift.
AP