The Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) has called on the prosecutor general and the minister of interior to investigate an incident of torture that occurred in a Port Said prison.
In a statement published on Tuesday, EOHR said it had received a complaint regarding the treatment of Mohamed Darwish Khudair, who was arrested in Port Said in 2011 on charges of attempted kidnapping and resisting arrest. EOHR says Khudair was subjected to “severe physical and verbal torture”.
The human rights group reported that Khudair accused one of the prison officers of causing him injury and this officer was referred to a criminal court. During this time another prison officer subjected Khudair to “the worst forms of torture”, said EOHR. Khudair sustained fractured ribs, his health deteriorated and he was not allowed visitors. He also was deprived of food and medical treatment, according to EOHR.
The group reported that Khudair’s family received a phone call from another inmate’s family who informed them that Khudair had been moved to a prison in Tanta.
Hafez Abu Seada, head of EOHR, said: “These are two cases of torture. The first was during [Khudair’s] arrest and initial detention. The second was as a punishment for speaking out against the first police officer.”Abu Seada said that there has been no official confirmation that Khudair has been moved from Port Said to Tanta.
Abu Seada reported that EOHR is waiting for a reply from the Ministry of Interior to allow for somebody to visit Khudair in prison to check on his condition. EOHR has called for an investigation and that “the involved police officers must be banned from [their duties] until the end of the investigations and trial”.
EOHR stressed that this case displays a violation against the International Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which Egypt is a signatory.
Abu Seada stressed that the fight against torture was one of the main causes for the revolution. “Torture is a continuing systematic practice in police stations and prisons,” he said. “There has been no change, if this regime continues with the same attitude the problem will remain.”
