Summary

"When someone from the police station called me and told me that my brother Mahmoud was dead, me and my cousin Mohamed Abdel Samie Mohamed ran to the police station right away. I thought that he had died from after falling into a diabetic coma because he suffered from diabetes.

But when we went to the Zeinhom autopsy room to do the funeral procedures I found my brother's body covered in injuries and I find out from others that had been detained with him that he had been beaten in the investigations department. I went to the prosecution office and presented a complaint stating that an investigations officer in Sayyeda Zeinab police station tortured my brother to death."

Mahmoud Gaber Mohamed (in his late 30s) was one of Sayyeda Zeinab police station's victims. In early October 2004 he was arrested by members of the Sayyeda Zeinab police station (located in south Cairo ) on a charge of opening a café without a license. He remained in the police station until his death on the 7 th October 2004 .

The public prosecution office launched an investigation into the case after receiving complaints from the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) and the deceased man's brother.

These investigations lasted just over a year and a half, and resulted an officer and policemen being sent for trial on charges of torturing Gaber to death.

The day after Gaber's death Hossam al Said was assaulted and tortured in Azbekeya police station (central Cairo ) by two investigations officers. He was being detained in the police station following a dispute which broke out between him and a taxi driver upon his arrival in Cairo , coming from Mansoura. His treatment in the police station led to several injuries.

Following a complaint filed by EOHR, the public prosecution office ordered that the two officers be sent to trial.

Introduction

This report summarises the findings of the investigations into the two torture cases briefly described above (1) and forms part of EOHR's campaign against torture. Over the course of the last ten years, EOHR has issued the following thirteen reports on torture:

•  A Crime without punishment: Torture in Egypt 25/12/1993

•  Citizens without protection 24/10/1994

•  The Tragedy of Belqass 24/10/1994

•  Closed Doors 12/9/1998

•  Kush: Group punishment 28/9/1998

•  Torture: Between transgressions and the dilemma of evidence 15/1/1999

•  The 3 rd millennium has begun, but has torture in Egypt stopped? 30/1/2000

•  Legal protection for perpetrators of torture 19/3/2001

•  Victims without rights 4/3/2002

•  The transfer of perpetrators of torture to criminal trial May 2002

•  Torture is a crime which must stop April 2003

•  Torture: An unchecked phenomenon April 2004

•  To whom the matter concerns…Torture in Haram police station March 2005

EOHR's reports substantiate statements made by the UN Human Rights Committee in its concluding observations on Egypt 's state party report during the HRC's 37 th session (2002). The HRC stated:

The Committee notes with concern the persistence of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment at the hands of law-enforcement personnel, in particular the security services, whose recourse to such practices appears to display a systematic pattern. It is equally concerned at the general lack of investigations into such practices, punishment of those responsible, and reparation for the victims. (2)

In 2004 EOHR presented 22 complaints of death caused by torture, and 70 cases of torture. None of these cases resulted in criminal trials and the majority of cases are still being investigated or have been shelved. EOHR has consistently called for the prosecution of torture perpetrators by the state and compensation of their victims.

* * *

The report was written using the investigations carried out by the public prosecution office into the two cases described above, as well as eyewitness statements provided during the course of these investigations.

EOHR also sent lawyers to the home of Mahmoud Gaber's brother in al Zafran, Sayyeda Zeinab, where they met Gaber's relatives and heard the testimony of his brother and neighbours. The latter's testimonies were not however relied on in the report both following the neighbours' requests that neither their names nor testimonies be mentioned in the report, and because the accounts they gave were merely hearsay.

In the second case EOHR relied on the victim's testimony (3) during his interview with an EOHR lawyer. EOHR was unable to reach any eyewitnesses.

EOHR did not receive a response from the Interior Ministry about either of the cases.

•  Mahmoud Gaber Mohamed

On the 1 st October 2004 Mahmoud Gaber was arrested by officers from Sayyeda Zeinab police station and taken to the police station. He was presented to the Sayyeda Zeinab prosecution office on the same day. The prosecution office ordered that he be released if he was facing no other charges. However, this was not done, and he was taken to the Cairo sentence enforcement unit where it was found that there was an outstanding one month prison sentence against him. (4) He was presented to the Darb al Ahmar prosecution office where it became known that he had previously appealed this sentence. He was returned to Sayyeda Zeinab police station where he was detained in preparation for his presentation to South Cairo prosecution office the next day ( 7/10/2005 ). His detention coincided with a public holiday from the 3 rd - 6 th October 2004. The next day he was taken to the police station's investigation unit and taken, by an investigations officer and two detectives to the office of officer Mohamed Mubarak Ali, where he was assaulted and tortured, which led to extreme exhaustion and several injuries; bruising to the lower neck, grazing and bruising to the lower pelvis and several other injuries.

Upon his return to his cell, he informed other detainees that he had been beaten and tortured by Ali and the two other detectives in order to force him to confess to several crimes of theft. The next day he was taken to Abassiya Hospital because of his critical state of health. A doctor signed a medical report which described "the presence of evidence of bleeding from the mouth, and long grazes to the arms. In an extremely debilitated state and unable to speak. Suffering low blood pressure and does not have a raised temperature."

The doctor requested that Gabar be transferred to Mounira Hospital because of the Abassiya Hospital 's inability to deal with the case. This was not done however, and Gabar was returned to Sayyeda Zeinab police station where he was detained until his death on the morning of the 7 th October 2004 .

Mechanisms for proving torture (forensic reports & eyewitness statements)

Immediately after this the prosecution office went to Sayyeda Zeinab police station and began its investigation (5) led by Major Assem Hamouda, head of investigations in Sayyeda Zeinab police station. The report stated that "on the 7 th October 2005 there was a complaint that Mahmoud Gabar Mohamed, detained in the police station during the course of investigations into misdemeanours case 4317/1999 Sayyeda Zeinab, suffered bleeding from the urethra. An ambulance was called to take him to the hospital but he died on the way."

The district attorney examined Gaber's body in the post-mortem room. Several injuries were obvious, which were recorded in the investigation report. The forensic doctor was instructed to carry out the autopsy in order to determine the cause of death.

a. The forensic medical report

The post-mortem report (6) issued on the 1 st January 2005 stated that post-mortem observation of Gabar revealed:

•  Signs of trauma to the neck, chest, back, upper and lower limbs and recent vital injuries of a traumatic nature caused by a blunt instrument, regardless of its nature. The injuries were inflicted on a date coinciding with October 10 th 2004 , the date mentioned in the public prosecution office memorandum quoting eyewitness Ahmed Moustafa el Ghafar, who was detained in the police station at the time of the events. These injuries are superficial and insufficient to cause death.

•  Signs of trauma to the head observed and described in the post-mortem are recent vital injuries caused by a blunt instrument regardless of its nature.

•  Signs of trauma on the anterior surface of the right knee, the posterior surface of the left knee and the posterior surface of the right elbow are recent vital abrasion injuries caused by friction with a rough surface, likely to have been caused by the victim being dragged along the floor, in the manner described in the public prosecution office report quoting eyewitness Ahmed Moustafa Abdel Ghafar. These injuries are superficial and insufficient to cause death.

•  Medical laboratory report no. 446/2003, 15(t)/2004 showed the presence of pathological changes in most skin samples consistent with thermal effects on the skin caused within eight hours of death. It cannot be stated decisively that the thermal effects in these skin specimens are due to electrocution. There is also the presence of disintegration of the brain stem nerve fibres.

•  Accordingly, on the basis of the post-mortem and findings of the medical laboratory analyses described above, the visible injuries described were caused by contact of the body with a hot object on the day before the victim died, some hours before his death. These injuries did not lead to the victim's death because there were no sign of injury to the brain, heart, cerebellum or brain stem.

•  Death was therefore caused by traumatic injury to the head, due to accompanying severe congestion of the cerebral blood vessels and disintegration of nerve fibres in the brain stem resulting in failure of the brain's vital centres.

Description of the location where these events took place

"Sayyeda Zeinab police station's detention area consists of two rooms; the first is opposite the main entrance to the detention area and is used to detain women. The second is to the left of the entrance and is used to hold male detainees. It measures roughly 2.5 x 5.5 m² and is ventilated by an iron window. Next to it is another room containing the detainees' supplies inside of which is a lavatory. None of the rooms contain electricity sockets."

The prosecution office brought charges of having tortured Mahmoud Gaber to death against:

•  Mohamed Mubarak Ali Saad, police officer.

•  Zaghloul Hamed Higab, assistant officer

•  Ahmed Ibrahim Madany Samaha, assistant officer

b. Eyewitness statements

- Ibrahim Mohamed Mohamed al Sayyed

Al Sayyed states that during his detention in Sayyeda Zeinab police station he was informed by Gabar that officer Mohamed Mubarak and two detectives had beaten him three times over the course of consecutive days during his detention. On the evening of the day before his death all the detainees were taken to the investigations unit for inspection and then returned to the detention area with the exception of Gabar, who remained in the investigations unit for three hours after the inspection had ended. He returned at around 12.30 a.m. in an extremely weak state with injuries to his hands and feet and bleeding from the mouth and urethra. He informed al Sayyed that his injuries occurred after he was suspended, beaten and tortured by the police officers in order to force him to confess to crimes of theft which he denied having committed. He died the next day as a result of the torture.

- Abdallah Mohamed Mohamed al Sayyed & Sameh Mamdouh Abbas Mohamed

Al Sayyed and Mohamed decided to add to the testimony above, saying that they saw detectives Zaghloul Hamed and Ibrahim Madany inside Mohamed Mubarak's office at 11 p.m. on the 5 th October 2004 beating Mahmoud Gabar to the back of his neck while Mubarak beat him using a stick.

- Tareq Sayyed Ahmed & Saad Kamel Mohamed Salem

Their testimony does not deviate from what was stated by Ibrahim Mohamed al Sayyed. They stated that on the 5 th October 2004 at around 9.30 p.m. while they were in the officers room Gabar was taken by the second and third defendants to be presented to the first defendant in his office. Some ten minutes later they heard Gabar screaming as a result of the beating. Gabar informed them of what had happened while he was cleaning up the blood and changing his clothes after returning to the detention area.

At around 12.30 p.m. Mohamed Mubarak beat Gabar on the head using a stick and the second and third defendants punched him.

- Wael Rabie Mohamed & Hossam Farouq Mohamed (performing probationary services in the police station.)

On the evening of the 5 th October 2004 they saw Mohamed Mubarak beat the defendant with a stick on his head while the detectives punched him on the back of his neck.

- Ahmed Mohamed Tawfiq Hassan, a doctor in Abasiyya Hospital

On the 6 th October 2004 at 11 p.m. policemen accompanied by Gabar arrived in the Accident and Emergency department. They were coming from Mounira Hospital . On examining Gabar he found bleeding from his mouth and long grazes to both arms. Gabar was in an extremely weak state, unable to speak and suffering from low blood pressure. The doctor requested that they take him back to Mounira Hospital because of the inability of Abasiyya Hospital to treat his injuries.

* * *

The three defendants denied the charges laid against them by the prosecution office. The first defendant stated that on the 5 th October 2004 he was assisting at the Labour Party headquarters located within the police station district. He then stated that after that at around 10.30 p.m. he went to Cairo security division to collect a night patrol car and patrolled the police station's district from around 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. the next day. He denies having beaten the victim or even seeing him at the time the events took place.

This account contradicts the testimony of one eyewitness (an officer in Sayyeda Zeinab police station) who stated that "the first defendant was present in the investigations unit after the detainees had been presented to the investigations unit on the evening of the 5 th October 2004 .

Renovation works in the unit offices ended a month before these events. The attendance register was empty, therefore allowing the defendant to take a break on the evening he claims he was absent from the police station."

The decision to send the case for criminal trial

After the investigations finished the head of the public prosecution office sent the investigation papers to the chief prosecutor in Istinaaf prosecution office, Cairo , accompanied by a memorandum of opinion stating:

"In case no. 3521 [2005] Sayyeda Zeinab felonies, the public prosecution office should indict the following:

•  Mohamed Mubarak Ali Saad, police officer

•  Zaghloul Hamed Higab, assistant officer

•  Ahmed Ibrahim Madany Samaha, assistant officer

Because on the 5/10/2004, in the Sayyeda Zeinab district, South Cairo, in their capacity as public servants (the first defendant being an investigations officer in Sayyeda Zeinab police station and the second and third defendants assistant officers in the same station) they tortured Mahmoud Gabar Mohamed , accused in case no. 10131 [2003] Sayyeda Zeinab misdemeanours, during his detention in Sayyeda Zeinab police station. The first defendant hit him on the head using a stick, while the second and third defendants punched him on the back of the neck causing the fatal injuries described in the forensic report. These acts were committed with the aim of forcing him to confess to crimes of theft described in the investigation report.

Therefore:

The accused have committed a felony under article 126 of the Egyptian Penal Code."

Istinaaf criminal court set a hearing for the case in Sayyeda Zeinab criminal court.

2. Hossam al Said Amer

At dawn on the 8 th October 2004 Amer was insulted in Azbekeyya police station by investigations officers, prompting him to go on hunger strike in protest. Amer, who was in the police station to file a report following a dispute which broke out between him and a taxi driver upon his arrival in Cairo coming from Mansoura, was detained by lieutenants Amru Seoudi and Yasser el Tawil and kicked and beaten in the back with a gun, causing him to lose consciousness. The two officers then poured tea over him to revive him and he was locked in an unused lavatory full of dirty water.

On the same day Amer was presented to the public prosecution office on charges of forging a 50 LE bank note. He presented a complaint about his treatment and the bruising caused by the beating recorded.

The prosecution office ordered that he be released and taken to a forensic doctor.

However, the two Azbekeyya officers did not release him, and he remained in detention for a further three days, after which he returned to Mansoura, where he lives.

During the three days he spent in detention Amer was again tortured. He was hung from a door by his left hand, beaten and insulted. He was then taken to a corridor behind a lavatory, both his feet and legs shackled, thrown on the floor and beaten, causing him to lose consciousness. Dirty toilet water was thrown on him in order to revive him.

Amer suffered a number of injuries as a result of this treatment, including:

•  Bruising to his left side caused by his being kicked

•  Bruising and grazing to the left wrist caused by his being hung from the door

•  Painful movement of the left shoulder

•  Painful movement of the left elbow

•  Inability to move his left thumb

Both EOHR and Amer presented complaints to the prosecution office, which began an investigation into the case. (7)

On the 27 th December 2004 the head of Azbeyya prosecution office sent the investigation report to the chief prosecutor of North Cairo prosecution office for his opinion. On the 19 th January 2005 the investigation report (8) was sent to the Azbekeyya misdemeanours court for the trial of:

•  Amru Seoudi, Lieutenant

•  Yasser el Tawil, Lieutenant

The two were charged under articles 129 and 232 (1) and (3) of the Egyptian Penal Code with using force against Hossam al Said Amer.

Recommendations

1. Members of the People's Assembly must take serious and effective steps to pass legislation amending the Penal and Criminal Procedures Codes, especially articles 126, 129, 280, 63 and 232(a) and 232(g). EOHR presented a draft bill to the People's Assembly containing amendments to these Codes which proposed widening the definition of torture in order to bring it in line with the Convention Against Torture and other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), and proposed that torture victims be given the right to bring legal action against their torturers.

2. EOHR urges the necessity of the Egyptian government taking serious steps towards respecting the provisions of the ICCPR and bringing into effect remarks made by the HRC in its comments on Egypt 's state reports presented to it, on the basis of article 40 of the ICCPR. The Egyptian government must ratify the ICCPR optional protocol which allows individuals to bring complaints to the HRC , as well as the CAT optional protocol. The Egyptian government must also lift the reservations made to articles 21 and 22 of the CAT.

3. EOHR calls on the Interior Ministry to launch speedy and impartial investigations into allegations by individuals and human rights groups of mistreatment and torture by police officers in places of detention. The public prosecution office must periodically inspect places of detention with the aim of establishing detainees' legal status, of impounding instruments of torture and of bringing to account those who use them. It also urges the Interior Ministry to make known the results of its investigations into these complaints and any disciplinary measures taken perpetrators of torture.

1- Case no. 3521 [2005], Sayyeda Zeinab felonies, investigation no. 85/2005 ( South Cairo ) & case 2942 [2005], Azbekeya misdemeanours.

2- Remark 13, concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee: Egypt 28/11/2002 CCPR/CO/76/EGY.

3- Interviewed in EOHR's headquarters.

4- Misdemeanour case no. 2417 [1999] Darb al Ahmar

5- No. 6002/2003

6- No. 584 ( Cairo forensic medicine division)

7- No.1472 (2004) Azbekeyya administrative office.

8- No.2942 (2005) Azbekeyya misdemeanours