CAIRO: Dozens of Egyptians injured during last week s demonstrations in the industrial city of Mahalla are being kept illegally handcuffed to their hospital beds, an Egyptian rights group said on Sunday.
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) said that chaining the injured to hospital beds is a violation of Egyptian and international law and of medical ethics.
“Victims of police brutality should receive care and treatment, not further abuse and violations of their right to health, said Dr Ragia Elgerzawy of the EIPR s Health and Human Rights Program.
It is disgraceful that these violations are committed without any objection from prosecutors or hospital doctors.
Newspapers on Sunday published photographs of those injured in the demonstration who had their arms and in some cases their legs handcuffed to their beds in what the EIPR said was a routine practice.
At least one person died in two days of rioting over price hikes and low pay in the Nile Delta city of Mahalla El-Kobra on April 6 and 7.
A doctor at Mahalla hospital said last week that 96 people had been injured in the rioting, including seven who are in critical condition.
A person in good health could suffer serious health complications if their movement is restricted for long periods, said Elgerzawy.
These risks are exacerbated if the restrained person is already suffering from injuries or illness, and the Doctors Syndicate is under a legal obligation to end this harmful and unethical practice. -AFP
