The Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) called for investigations into the death of Mohamed El-Gendy, who the EOHR says was tortured after being kidnapped by security forces on 28 January. El-Gendy’s whereabouts were unknown for three days before his family found him in a hospital where he eventually succumbed to his wounds.
The Ministry of Justice said El-Gendy had died as a result of a car accident on 6 October Bridge in Cairo. The EOHR said, however, that upon closer inspection, doctors found signs of torture on El-Gendy’s body.
The EOHR said they were concerned by the article written by the Al-Watan newspaper on Tuesday, which interviewed a young man called Sherif Al-Behery. Behery had told the newspaper he was a former Muslim Brotherhood member tasked with extracting confessions from abducted protesters held at Al-Gabal Al-Asfar Central Security Camp.
According to EOHR, Al-Behiry had witnessed El-Gendy’s torture at the camp, which began after El-Gendy protested his unlawful detention. El-Gendy was reportedly beaten to death in detention. The EOHR concluded that Al-Behery and other young Brotherhood members were tasked with extracting confessions that could be used to incriminate the National Salvation Front (NSF), namely accusations that they had paid protesters to demonstrate.
The EOHR stressed that this was a violation of El-Gendy’s human rights, violating his integrity and respect for humanity, “contrary to international conventions on human rights and the rules set forth in the International Bill of Human Rights”.
Hafez Abu Saada, the secretary general of the EOHR, said such practices should not occur in post-revolutionary Egypt. He stressed that the revolution came about as a result of the arbitrary detention and torture of civilians, while other demands came after.
Abu Saada said the responsibility for this incident does not fall solely on the shoulders of the Central Security Forces (CSF), but rests also upon those of the Ministry of Interior and the government. The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), he added, are also responsible for these crimes.
In this regard Abu Saada called upon the prosecutor general to open investigations into civilian torture by the CSF at the camp, and the death of El-Gendy. The perpetrators, he concluded, must be held accountable.
The Brotherhood has continually denied having tortured protesters, despite reports and eyewitness accounts stating otherwise.
