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Stop Torture:
the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights investigates the torture of a man in Waraq Police Station
27/6/2005
The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) expresses its deep concern over information it received concerning the torture of Abdel Gawad Abdel Gawad Abdel Gawad El-Aaw.
According to the information provided by El-Aaw's family he was arrested, without legal basis, on 15th June 2005 by Waraq police station officers. El-Aaw was kept in the custody of a bureau of the Waraq police station on charges of dealing drugs, carrying arms and thuggary. El-Aaw was brought before the public prosecution office, which ordered his imprisonment for 4 days, followed by a 45-day extension, while the investigations were underway.
Complaints submitted by El-Aaw's family to EOHR included an account of their visits, in which they found him in a severe state of illness and suffering from several injuries and bruises. His family also says El-Aaw claimed to have been tortured by two of the officers and two other policemen, including:
- Beating him with a truncheon on the head and back
- Punching and slapping him on the face and various parts of the body
- Tying and dragging him from the leg
- Beating "sensitive parts" of his body
The victim's family presented a complaint to the Waraq prosecutor and demanded that he be checked by a forensic doctor. The prosecution did in fact comply to their request and ordered his referral to a forensic to confirm the alleged torture and determine the date the injuries occurred, how they were caused and the tools used. However, after being checked by the forensic doctor, El-Aaw suffered further torture at the hands of two other policemen who forced him to retract his torture complaint.
EOHR immediately presented a complaint to the relevant authorities on 23rd June 2005.
EOHR expresses deep concern over the continued occurrence of torture crimes in police stations and detention centers and reaffirms the necessity of reviewing the penal legislations for those crimes to bring an end to torture. EOHR also stresses the necessity of state authorities - in particular the Interior Ministry - taking legal procedures to bring an end to torture in police stations and detention centers.
EOHR also calls for annulment of the state of emergency and the application of international standards in the punishment of torture perpetrators and the strengthening of the role played by the public prosecutor in monitoring police stations and detention centers
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