CAIRO: Former ghost detainee Abu Omar paid a surprise visit on Friday to a conference organized by the 3rd Cairo Social Forum where he recounted his personal experiences of torture and abuse during his imprisonment.
“I was kidnapped on an open street in Milan and forced into a van. They covered my face with black sticky tape. Then, they put me on a plane to Egypt. I was constantly beaten and tortured, Abu Omar loudly shouted at the forum.
Abu Omar, also known as Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, was kidnapped in Milan in 2003. Considered a terrorist suspect, he was transported to an Egyptian prison where he was allegedly subjected to torture.
Sources say that he is still under close surveillance by the Egyptian state security and that he is ‘taking a big risk’ by speaking publicly about his experiences.
Led by Aida Seif Al-Dawla, the Director of the Nadim Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture, the forum featured the accounts of victims of torture and a discussion of how torture can be eradicated from Egyptian society.
“Torture is a cornerstone of this regime. It is a structural practice that doesn’t belong in human nature, Muslim Brotherhood lawyer Sobky Salah stressed angrily.
Salah also called for a campaign titled ‘All of Us Against Torture’ as a new tool against the “torture practices of the Egyptian regime .
Through media and political advocacy, the campaign will reach out to the international community and put pressure on the authorities.
“We need to be more confrontational. We need more demonstrations and all victims of torture must report what has been done to them. Documentation is crucial in order to spur change in this epidemic, Salah said.
Hossam El-Hamalawy, journalist and blogger, emphasized the importance of documenting the perpetrators of torture in addition to creating a comprehensive database of torture cases.
“Make sure to take pictures when you see people being beaten and abused by police at protests. If we capture the people in action on photo or film, that is the best piece of evidence we can bring against them, El-Hamalawy said.
Attendees retold horrific accounts of abuse carried out against them by police and state security. The large audience consisted of local and national human rights activists, human rights lawyers, and a large number of journalists.
Loud gasps and murmurs could be heard as Abu Omar explained how he was tortured with electric cords which turned his whole body black for months.
Mohamed El-Sharkawy, a young Kefaya activist, told the audience how he was detained on May 25, 2006 at a demonstration marking the one-year anniversary of violent attacks by police against journalists and demonstrators, who had been urging a boycott of a constitutional referendum.
Following his arrest, El-Sharkawy was taken to Qasr El-Nil police station where he was beaten and raped with a cardboard tube by his captors.
His lawyer described the abuse as the “worst case of police abuse he had seen in 12 years .
Charged with “insulting the president, “insulting and assaulting officials in the course of performing their duties, and “calling for an unlicensed assembly, the young activist was held at Tora Prison until July 18, 2006.
Despite the fact that El-Sharkawy’s lawyers have filed three written requests with General Prosecutor Mohammad Faisal to investigate the torture allegations, not much seems to have happened in the case.
“Almost a year after El-Sharqawy was tortured and raped in a police station, the authorities have taken no visible steps to hold to account those responsible for the crime. Rather than allowing police to intimidate and harass this young activist, the Egyptian government should be doing everything it can to prosecute the officers who tortured him, Sarah Leah Whitson, Director of the Middle East Division at Human Rights Watch, stated in a recent press release urging the authorities to look into El-Sharkawy’s case.
“I want them to do something about it. I want justice, El-Sharkway told The Daily Star Egypt in a previous interview.
As for Abu Omar, the Egyptian cleric wants to go back to his life in Italy.
“I want to go back to Italy. I never had any problem living there. I am banned from going there, but my lawyer is following the case. I am waiting for the judge’s decision in Italy, Abu Omar said.
Abu Omar also alleged that he was offered a green card by the Americans, but said that he “would never consider living in that country .
“They keep arresting me here over and over. I want to be left alone, Abu Omar said.
