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March 25, 2003
Counselor Maher `Abd al Wahed
Attorney General
Dar al Qada' al `Ali
Ramsis Street
Cairo, Egypt
Dear Attorney General,
Human Rights Watch is extremely concerned by credible allegations of Egyptian authorities' torture, ill-treatment, and denial of urgently needed medical care to individuals arrested in connection with anti-war demonstrations that began March 20, 2003, and by the transfer of some demonstrators' cases to the State Security Prosecution Office.
A Human Rights Watch representative present in Cairo has observed some of the anti-war demonstrations and has interviewed numerous individuals present at the demonstrations, awaiting interrogation at the al Azbekiya Public Prosecution Office, or recently released from detention at several illegal places of detention, including the al Darassa Central Security camp and the Lazoghli State Security Investigations headquarters, as well as lawyers and independent medical experts who have seen detainees during and after their release. At least four of the detainees are children, including three under the age of fifteen, and are believed to have been held with adults since March 21, 2003.
Based on this information, we have serious concerns regarding the health and safety of sixty-eight persons currently known to be in detention, and hundreds others believed to be held at the al Darassa Central Security camp, the Lazoghli and Gabr ibn Hayyan State Security Investigations offices, the al Azbekiya, al Gamaliya, al Khalifa, `Abdin, and Qasr al Nil police stations, and other places of detention. The names of the known detainees are included in an appendix to this letter.
Human Rights Watch recognizes that the authorities in Egypt have a right and a responsibility to maintain law and order and to bring to justice individuals who resort to violence or otherwise threaten public security. However, such policing actions should be conducted in accordance with Egyptian laws and international standards aimed at safeguarding the lives, health, dignity and rights of all persons arrested or otherwise deprived of liberty. In documenting the actions of Egypt's riot police and detaining authorities over the last few days we are particularly concerned about the following:
I. Torture and Ill-treatment During Arrest and in Custody
Human Rights Watch has documented several cases of torture and ill-treatment during arrest and while in custody, in violation of Egyptian law and Egypt's legal obligations under the Convention against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. These cases include:
- Torture of twelve detainees transferred from the al Azbekiya prosecution office to the al Khalifa police station on March 22, 2003 (see appendix for names). One detainee, attorney Gamal Abdel Aziz `Id, told Human Rights Watch that he was beaten by the police station's brigadier responsible for transport (ma'mur al tarhilat) while being held by two lower ranking officers (amin shorta and ra'id). He described being beaten on the back, neck, and arm with a stick until the stick broke, and then beaten with a belt, and expressed concern that his arm may be broken. `Id, who is a consultant to Human Rights Watch, also reported that police officers at the station threatened to rape the three female detainees in the group.
- The use of electroshock by an interrogator against five detainees held at the Lazoghli State Security Investigations headquarters between the hours of midnight and 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 21, 2003.
- Severe beatings of Manal Khaled, Ziad Abdel Hamid al Uleimi, and Members of Parliament Hamdin al Sabahi, Mohammed Farid Hassanayn, Abdel Azim al Maghrabi and Haidar Baghdadi during their arrest by riot police.
- The kicking of Nourhan Thabit, a pregnant Cairo University student, during arrest on March 22, 2003 and while blindfolded and handcuffed in police custody.
We are also disturbed by reports that five Cairo University students arrested on the morning of March 25, 2003 have been tortured by State Security Investigations officers at the Gabr ibn Hayyan State Security Investigations offices. According to the accounts we have received, SSI officers severely beat Samir al Fouli, Hind Tawfiq, Ramez Gihad, Sahar al Nubi, and Marwa Faruq, and tore the clothes of the women in the group and threatened them with rape.
II. Denial of Medical Care
Human Rights Watch is deeply disturbed by the continuing denial of urgently needed medical care to protestors in government custody, in violation of Egypt's legal obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and in contravention of international standards for the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty. In some cases forensic doctors have reportedly documented severe injuries, but neither the forensic doctors nor the authorities have taken action to ensure that the injured detainees receive urgently needed medical care. While the lack of access to detainees makes it difficult to assess the number and seriousness of detainees' injuries, Human Rights Watch fears that in some cases the denial of timely medical care could result in long term disabilities. We are particularly concerned about the following cases:
- Manal Khaled, beaten on the head and eye during arrest on March 21, 2003 and ordered detained for four days pending investigation on March 22, 2003. She was beaten again at the al Khalifa police station on March 22 (see above). A medical doctor with a nongovernental organization who saw Khaled on March 22 just prior to her transfer to al Khalifa told Human Rights Watch that Khaled's eye was severely damaged. Khaled said she had twice seen health inspectors and both times they reportedly told her that she had severe eye damage and needed medical attention, but did not treat her or ensure that she received care.
- Ziad Abdel Hamid al Uleimi, severely beaten on the arm and shoulder during arrest on March 21, 2003. A medical doctor with a nongovernental organization who saw al Uleimi on March 22, told Human Rights Watch that al Uleimi said he had seen a forensic doctor who documented that his arm was broken in three places, but did not provide medical treatment or ensure that he received care. He was beaten again at the al Khalifa police station on March 22, and lawyers who saw him after the beating said that police had intentionally targeted his broken arm.
- Gamal Abdel Aziz `Id, severely beaten on the back, neck, and arm at the al Khalifa police station on March 22, 2003. `Id told Human Rights Watch on March 25, 2003 that he feared his arm may have been broken during the beating, but that he and other detainees transferred to Tora al Mahkum prison have not received medical care, despite repeated requests for treatment.
III. Illegal Detention
Human Rights Watch has received credible reports of hundreds of individuals arrested in connection with the demonstrations being held for periods of over twenty-four hours without being presented to the public prosecutors office, in violation of Egyptian law and international human rights standards. In many cases these individuals are held at sites not recognized in the Code of Criminal Procedures and the Prisons Law as legal places of detention, including State Security Investigations offices and Central Security paramilitary camps. One detainee arrested on March 21, 2003 and detained at al Darassa Central Security camp told Human Rights Watch on March 22, 2003 that his cell held seventy-two persons, although only a portion of that number had been presented to the public prosecutor's office by that date, and not all of those presented for prosecution had been held at the al Darassa camp. Another detainee held at the same camp told us that on March 21, 2003 the camp was so full that detainees were being held in the camp's barracks. Arrests are continuing, with eight new arrests known to have taken place on March 23-24, 2003 and at least five more arrests on March 25, 2003.
In addition to adult detainees, at least four children, three of whom are under age fifteen, are believed to have been held at the al Darassa Central Security camp prior to their transfer to the Qasr al Nil and al Azbekiya prosecution offices. These actions are in violation of the Convention of the Rights of the Child that states that "every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child's best interest not to do so" and in violation of Egyptian law and Ministry of Interior regulations, which prohibit any imprisonment of children under fifteen and prohibit any detention of children in adult police lockups. Three of the children were among thirty-five persons ordered detained for fifteen days pending investigation (Prosecution Report 2327/2003) on March 22, 2003; the fourth child was among twelve persons whose detention was extended for an additional week on March 25, 2003. The current whereabouts of the children are unknown, and it is feared that some of the children may still be detained at the Qasr al Nil police station. Human Rights Watch has previously documented numerous incidents of torture and ill-treatment, of adults and children detained at Egyptian police stations, including beatings, sexual violence and abuse, and denial of food and medical care, raising concerns about the well-being and the safety of these and other children believed arrested during the demonstrations.
IV. Transfer to State Security Prosecutions
Human Rights Watch is also alarmed by the transfer of some civilian detainees to State Security Prosecution Offices, which fail to meet international fair trial standards set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. These exceptional procedures frequently have been used to hold political activists, including those who were not involved in any violent activity, for years without charge or trial. As of March 23, at least seven detainees were reportedly transferred to State Security Prosecution Office, including two members of parliament, and have been ordered detained for fifteen days pending investigation of their cases:
Ramon Zakareya
Khaled al-Kholi
Tameem Bergouti
Gamal Abdel-Fattah
Ahmed Abou-Laban, also known as Ahmed Aouny
Member of Parliament Hamdeen Sabahi
Member of Parliament Fareed Hassanayn
Human Rights Watch urges you to act immediately to safeguard the lives, health, dignity and rights of all persons arrested or otherwise detained in connection with anti-war protests. In particular, we call on you to:
- Investigate all reports of arbitrary arrest, torture, and ill-treatment, and identify and bring to justice those responsible. Persons alleging torture or ill-treatment should immediately be referred to forensic doctors for examination.
- Ensure that a qualified medical professional examines every detainee as promptly as possible after arrest and on a regular basis thereafter. All detainees should be afforded all necessary medical treatment in a timely manner.
- Instruct public prosecutors to immediately visit the al Darassa Central Security camp, the Lazoghli, Gabal al Ahmar, and Gabr ibn Hayyan State Security Investigations offices, the al Azbekiya, al Gamaliya, Qasr al Nil, al Khalifa, and `Abdin police stations, and all other places where detainees may be held to ensure that no one is held in a place not recognized in Egyptian law as a legal place of detention or otherwise arbitrarily or unlawfully detained. Prosecutors should ensure that conditions of detention meet international standards for persons deprived of their liberty, and that children are only detained as a last resort and for the shortest possible time.
- End the transfer of civilian defendants to State Security prosecution procedures, void the detention orders of all cases previously referred to State Security prosecutors pending review by the regular public prosecution office, and ensure that all defendants' rights to a fair trial are respected.
We look forward to your urgent response to the above matters.
Sincerely,
Hanny Megally
Executive Director
Middle East and North Africa Division
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