By Omnia Al Desoukie
CAIRO: The body of Essam Ali Atta Ali, who was reportedly sodomized to death by police inside the Tora maximum security prison, was taken from the Zeinhom Morgue to Tahrir Square late Friday.
Dozens of protesters marched along with Ali’s family, vowing to get his rights and chanting against the Ministry of Interior as well as the ruling military council.
The march arrived to Tahrir Square, where thousands of angry protesters marched in the funeral to Omar Makram Mosque. The body will be buried at El-Basatein cemetery.
Egypt’s Prosecutor General had ordered an official autopsy into the death of 24-year-old Ali, who died on Oct. 27 after reportedly being sodomized to death by prison guards who used hoses to inject water into his mouth and anus, which led to bleeding.
Tried in a military court last February, Ali was sentenced to two years in prison and was being held in Tora.
The autopsy was conducted at Zeinhom Morgue on Friday afternoon, where tens of protesters were present to support Ali’s family and show solidarity with the torture victim.
Dr Aida Seif El-Dawla, a prominent activist, was allowed inside the morgue after the body had been opened. Doctors on the case told her there was no evidence of bleeding, and when she questioned them about the proceedings, they told her dismissively: “Why don’t you take gloves and do it yourself?”
She likened the case to that of Khaled Saeid after a doctor showed her a “wrap” which they reportedly found in the body. Another prisoner had accused Ali of swallowing weed, which the family denies.
According to El Nadeem Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence, doctors noted that Ali was foaming at the mouth. Initial medical reports attribute his death to a sharp drop in blood pressure and a heart attack.
Seif El-Dawla said the morgue lacked the basic tools for a proper autopsy. She said microscopic samples were needed and, if properly preserved, the cause of death could have been determined later. However, the samples were not taken and doctors said that since it’s a Friday, they are not able to conduct all these tests.
Seif El-Dawla said she was verbally abused while inside, and at one point, was not allowed to leave. She had to bang on the door from inside so people could let her out.
According to his family and El Nadeem Center, Ali was subjected to brutal torture at the behest of a police officer by the name of Nour.
Nour reportedly ordered Ali’s torture inside Tora prison after another prisoner accused Ali of swallowing weed, according to his family.
“His mother visited him on Tuesday and smuggled in a SIM card, which he gave to another prisoner. There was a third prisoner who used to make them tea, and he owed my son LE 5,” said his father, Ali Atta.
“When my son asked for the money, the man offered two cups of tea instead, which Essam refused. The man then went and told police officer Nour that he saw my son swallowing weed.”
The family said they received a phone call from their son a day before he died, telling them that he is afraid of officer Nour. “He asked me to file a complaint to the prosecutor, but his cellmates called and told me not to, or else my son will die,” Ali’s father said.
His mother visited on Tuesday and was pushed out during the visit after the other prisoner accused Ali of swallowing weed. “The pushed me out and I could hear him screaming, about four guards were beating him,” she said.
Ali’s mother, Ina’am Hassan Ragheb, wept as she held up a picture of her young son. At the morgue, she was surrounded by somber women and Ali’s devastated older sister, who screamed “My brother is dead.”
The family says that after suffering torture for more than an hour, other prisoners pleaded with prison guards to stop. Ali was then transferred to Kasr El-Aini hospital, where he died an hour later, his father said.
Ali’s father and his son Mohamed said that fellow prisoners reported the death, not prison authorities.
“They called us on Thursday at around 7 pm and told us that Essam is at the hospital,” said Mohamed Ali said. “They told us he was bleeding from his anus,” he added.
Ragheb said she was given the runaround, first going to Om El-Masriyeen Hospital, then to Ahmed Maher and to El-Monira, where she was eventually directed to Kasr El-Aini.
“Since the prosecutor is the one who ordered the autopsy, the case will automatically go to court; but we have to wait for the prosecution’s report after the autopsy,” said family lawyer Sayed Fathi.
The news has renewed the anger of activists, who have for months called for the end of military trials of civilians as well as reforming the Ministry of Interior and the police force.
His family says Ali was initially arrested for asking a military officer why he was arresting a friend of his as they were watching a fight in the Mokkatam area. He was then tried in a military court.
Rights groups say more than 12,000 civilians have been tried in military courts since the January uprising.
Ali’s case comes just days after a court sentenced two police informants tried in the case of Khaled Saeid to seven years in a maximum security prison, a result which riled activists and lawyers, who say the sentence is too lenient.
Saeid’s case is seen as igniting protests in late 2010, which later galvanized into the uprising that toppled Mubarak.
A Facebook page called “We are all Essam Atta” appeared online Thursday night and the number of members is quickly on the rise. –Additional reporting by Sarah El Sirgany
