CAIRO: The opposition Karama party has alleged in a statement that one of their members was “kidnapped and held for eight days by state security forces in Alexandria.
The party claims member Bassem Aboul Magd was taken by state security forces near Sidi Bishr in Alexandria on July 30. The reason was that he had refused to heed state security demands to appear before them. He was then threatened on the phone if he did not appear.
According to Aboul Magd, he was dragged into a microbus and blindfolded and taken to an unknown location. He claims he was physically assaulted at least twice daily, and was only fed twice during his eight-day incarceration.
Party leader and MP Saad Aboud told Daily News Egypt, “This kidnapping was illegal and constitutional. This is an example of the violation of human beings here and they are very good at what they do. Bassem doesn’t know where he was taken or the names and faces of those who did this.
“We need to expose what these branches of security do; it is a catastrophe that has befallen Egypt. People’s dignity is stepped on here in a terrible way, he added.
From a legal perspective, police cannot detain citizens for a given length of time without the issuance of an arrest warrant from either the public prosecution or a judge.
“It’s bullying, head of the Hisham Mubarak Law Center Ahmed Seif El-Islam told Daily News Egypt, “People can only be detained with an arrest warrant issued by the prosecutor’s office or a judge. Egyptian police, however, are known for detaining people without warrant. “
The news Aboul Magd’s detention was not verified by police.
The manner in which Aboul Magd alleges he was taken is similar to the taking of Gaza campaigner Philip Rizk last February. He was also bundled into a microbus by state security and was kept for four days, during which he stated he was blindfolded.
The Karama (Dignity) party is still under creation and has Arab nationalist and leftist leanings. Its members run in elections as independents.
The party has run into trouble before, with Aboud excluded from parliament in February 2008 after he accused the Ministry of Interior of embezzling funds during the organization of the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
Members of the People’s Assembly voted to expel him until autumn of that year for what they deemed “false charges of embezzlement.
