CAIRO: Egyptian authorities have refused to allow detained activist Mohammed El Sharqawy to receive treatment for injuries he incurred during a beating by the police, his lawyer said Thursday. His life is in real danger, said lawyer Gamal Eid of his client, who has alleged that Egyptian police sodomized him with a foreign object following his arrest last month. El-Sharqawy has been subject to violent torture and abuse at the hands of police officers at the Qasr Al-Nil police station that caused him several injuries in different parts of the body, the statement said. It added that despite the injuries, the interior ministry continues to deny him the necessary medical care, including his urgent need for treatment on his left arm. Today we have submitted a communiqué to the public prosecutor demanding it to oblige the interior [ministry] to provide Al-Sharqawy with the required medical care, it said. Eid also accused the authorities of denying his client access to due process and refusing to investigate allegations of torture against him by the police. The interior ministry has denied the torture allegations. El Sharqawy and fellow activist Karim Al-Shaer were held at the Qasr Al-Nil station briefly following their arrest at a rally in support of reformist judges on May 25. In a letter later smuggled out of his prison cell, El Sharqawy claimed he had suffered abuse, including being sodomized by police with a rolled-up piece of cardboard. AFP
Detained activist denied medical care: lawyer
