Egypt: Allegations of torture and ill-treatment in al-Hadra Prision, Alexandria

Torture and ill-treatment/ Arbitrary detention/ Release/ Risk of impunity

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Egypt.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), a member organisation of the SOS-Torture Network, about the allegations of torture and ill-treatment, and arbitrary detention suffered by Mr. Mahmoud Ragab Ibrahim, a 21-years old craftsman from Alexandria, by prison guards of the al-Hadra Prision, in Alexandria.

According to the information received, on 1 February 2011, Mr. Ibrahim was passing through the area of Sidi Beshr, in the city of Alexandria, around 5:30 p.m., when he was approached by members of the community watches . They considered him suspicious and he was subsequently handed over to the Command Center of the Northern Area of the Armed Forces (CCNAAF), despite having presented his national identification card to the community watches members.

Mr. Mahmoud Ragab Ibrahim was thereafter brought to the al-Hadara prison on no legal grounds. He was never presented before any competent judicial authority during his detention. In al-Hadara prison, he was forced to wear the detainee uniform and allegedly beaten and tortured by the guards. As a consequence of these acts he bore deep wound on his thighs, cut wounds on his back, feet and arms and moreover swelled feet, and arms, and a swelled left eye. To this date, no legal charges were brought against Mr. Ibrahim.

According to the same information, the family of Mr. Ibrahim received, on 10 February 2011, a phone call from an alleged “citizen” informing them that their detained relative had been released next to the al-Mughawreen Mosque, near the al-Hadra prison. When the family went to the mentioned place, they found Mr. Mahmoud Ragab Ibrahim unconscious and in a severe state of fatigue. The days before, the family had been asking for Mr. Ibrahim at the CCNAAF, where they were told that he had been transferred to the Central Military Prison in Cairo, but there was no sign of Mr. Ibrahim. Subsequently his family looked for him in other military prisons and went back to CCNAAF where again they received no satisfactory answer.

Mr. Ibrahim's family reported the incident to the General Prosecution Office of East Alexandria. The family accuses the administration of al-Hadra prison of detaining Mr. Mahmoud Ragab Ibrahim without any legal charges and of alleged torture. The report was registered under number 385 for the year 2011 under the petition of the General Prosecution Office of East Alexandria. The case is reportedly being currently investigated by the Public Prosecutor.

OMCT is gravely concerned about the alleged facts and recalls that Egypt is a State party to the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which both prohibit torture and ill-treatment, at all times.

In line with their obligations under these treaties, it is incumbent on the competent authorities to consider seriously any allegations of torture and ill-treatment, and to undertake a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation in this regard in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply adequate sanctions.
Finally, OMCT recalls that the victims of torture and ill-treatment must be ensured the right to an effective remedy for the human rights violations suffered as well as the right to full redress, including compensation and rehabilitation.

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Egypt urging them to:

i. Take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Mahmoud Ragab Ibrahim;
ii. Carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the abovementioned facts, in particular the allegations of torture and ill-treatment, the result of which must be made public, in order to bring those responsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. Ensure that an effective remedy as well as the right to full redress, including compensation and rehabilitation, is granted to Mr. Mahmoud Ragab Ibrahim;
iv. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards.
Addresses

➢ Vice-President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, HE. Omar Souleiman, Abedine Palace, Cairo, E-mail: [email][email protected], Fax: +202 2390 1998
➢ Prime Minister, Dr. Essam Sharaf, Magles El Shaab Street, Kasr El Aini Street, Cairo, Fax: + 202 2735 6449 / 27958016. Email: [email][email protected]
➢ Egyptian Public Prosecutor, Counsellor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud Abdel Meguid, Dar al Qadha al-'Ali, Ramses Street, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: + 20 2 2577 4716;
➢ Minister of Interior, General Mansour El-Essaoui, 25 Al-Sheikh Rihan Street, Bab al-Louk, Cairo, Egypt, El-Sheikh Rihan Street, Bab al-Louk, Cairo Email: [email][email protected], Fax: +202 2579 2031 / 2794 5529
➢ Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohamed El Gendy, Ministry of Justice, Magles El Saeb Street, Wezaret Al Adl, Cairo, Fax: +202 2795 8103, E-mail: [email][email protected]
➢ National Council for Human Rights, 1113 Corniche El Nil, Midane Al Tahrir, Specialized National Councils Building – 11th floor, NDP Building, Cairo, Fax: +2022 574 7497, Email: [email][email protected]
➢ Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations in Geneva, Avenue Blanc 49, 1202 Geneva, Fax: +41 22 738 44 15, Email: [email][email protected]

Please also write to the embassies of Egypt in your respective country.
*******
Geneva, 24 March 2011

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.