Articles for Egypt

Egypt: Lack of medical care in Egyptian prisons leads to serious risk of death for numerous detainees

Egyptian prisons are notorious for their bad conditions of detention, the widespread practice of torture and the arbitrary nature of the detention of many of their inmates. In addition to this, Alkarama has been informing the United Nations human rights mechanisms of a further worrying problem in many Egyptian prisons, whereby detainees suffering from medical conditions at the time of their arrest, are given no medical attention, often putting them at serious risk of death.

18 Jan 2010
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Egypt: The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention confirms the arbitrary nature of Dr Islam al Mazeny’s detention and calls for compensation

Dr Islam Sobhy Al-Mazeny, an Egyptian doctor and poet, was arrested on 7 April 2007 by the Egyptian State Security Intelligence (SSI) as he was organizing his departure to work in a Saudi Arabian clinic. In a poor state of health, he was detained without any legal basis for 8 months, until his release on 19 December 2007.

16 Jan 2010
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Egypt: Arrest and torture of 5 individuals in Bani Suef, a further example of the un-ending cycle of human rights violations in the country

On 13 December 2009, the Egyptian State Security Intelligence (SSI) raided the houses and arrested Mohamed Omar Mohamed Omar,  Ahmed Fathi Ahmed Amer,  Mohamed Mustafa Mohamed Mustafa, Ahmed Sobhi Abulkasem Kotb and Mahmoud Adel Mohamed Mohamed Marzouk in Bani Suef.

They detained them at SSI headquarters in Bani Suef from 13 to 19 December 2009 where they were subject to all kinds of torture and mistreatment under the command of SSI officer Amro Al Mufti, known for his sadistic treatment of prisoners.

14 Jan 2010
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Egypt: Ahmed Douma, student blogger, tortured during detention in Damanhour prison

Ahmed Saad Douma, a 20-year-old blogger and student at Tanta University, was arrested by State Security Intelligence (SSI -Amn Al-Dowla) at the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on 4 February 2009. He was charged with "trying to illegally cross the eastern border." On 10 February 2009 he was tried before a military court and sentenced to one year in prison and fined 2000 LE ($US 360). He was tortured during his transfer to the prison and was again subjected to torture on 5 December 2009.
18 Dec 2009
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Egypt: Detention and torture of Zakaria and Dia Ibrahim

The Egyptian authorities continue to forcibly arrest anyone who challenges the regime. Acting with complete impunity, they are almost always in contradiction with the principles of international and domestic law to which Egypt is party. The security services not only carry out multiple arbitrary arrests, but expose detainees to torture in an effort to extract false confessions to be used as evidence in unfair trials.
16 Dec 2009
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Egypt: Abdel Moawad risks death due to lack of medical care inside Wadi Natroun prison

Currently detained in Sahrawi II prison, inside the Wadi Natroun prison complex, and suffering from severe health problems, Mohamed Abdel Hakim Abdel Rashid Abdel Moawad was arrested alongside 24 others on 17 May 2009, as part of the arrests related to the case of Fares Barakat who was thrown out of a fourth story window by Security Services in Damanhour.

Alkarama had previously submitted

12 Dec 2009
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Egypt: Abdel Rahman Al-Sharkawy, torture and extraordinary rendition from Pakistan to Egypt

Abdel Rahman Al-Sharkawy, a 29 year old dual-citizen Egyptian-Pakistani, had been living with his family in Pakistan since 1989.
08 Dec 2009
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Egypt: Ahmed Abdelradi severely tortured by Aswan police

Ahmed Rajab Abdelradi, a 23 year old chemist from Aswan, was arrested on 12 November 2009, and was later severely tortured while in the custody of the Investigative Branch of the Aswan Police Department. He was taken from his home by State Security Intelligence (SSI) officers supported by officers of the Investigative Branch of the Aswan Police Department. He was accused of belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood.

On 13, 14, 15, and 18 November 2009, Mr Abdelradi was tortured by members of the SSI, in particular Major Mohamed Al-Omari and Captain Taha Abu Sahl.

08 Dec 2009
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Egypt: Magdi Hamdi Saqr, denied medical care inside prison, life in danger

The State of Emergency law is often used by the Egyptian security services as a pretext for arbitrary arrests of dissident groups or those believed to be members of such groups. In such cases, the victims are detained without legal justification and held for long periods of time without trials based on the assumption that they are a threat to national security. Within the prison themselves, many of these political prisoners are exposed to ill-treatment, humiliation and torture, especially those who require medical care are often denied this basic privilege and in some cases die.
08 Dec 2009
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Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood leader, Dr Gamal Heshmat, released after 2 months arbitrary detention

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On Thursday 26 November 2009, Dr Mohamed Gamal Heshmat (الدكتور محمد جمال حشمت), Muslim Brotherhood leader and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood Shura Council, was released after two months of arbitrary detention in Burg al-Arab prison.
27 Nov 2009
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