Citizen […], known by […] was subject to severe beating and use of electricity on sensitive parts of his body at the state security intelligence headquarters in the city of […] by the hands of officer […]. […] had been arrested in the early hours of the […] from his house in the district of […] in the city of […], Gharbeyya governorate in the Delta of Egypt.
[…] woke up at about 2 a.m. upon a heavy knocking at his door. As soon as he opened the door the police was all over the house. […] asked for the prosecutor’s permit to search the house, upon which the state security officer reached into his pocket, got out a small piece of paper, which […] did not read, returned it back into his pocket again and said: “This is the permit. And even if there is no permit, I shall detain you as I wish”. The police then took […] down into the police car, then went up again in arms to search his house causing panic to his wife and children. The police took school books and botebooks of the children, a praying carpet, a computer which was searched by the officer himself at the state security office in violation of the law which states that examination of a computer should be carried out by the technical office upon an order of the prosecution.
As soon as […] arrived in the state security office in […] he was beaten, slapped and kicked all over his body by officer […] and […]. Then […] stripped […] of all his clothes, forced him to the floor on his back with his hands tied and eyes blindfolded. He then put a chair between his legs and used a baton to pressure sensitive parts of his body. While […] was screaming of pain, officer […] was laughing and saying: “I shall make you lose your manhood totally. You will sleep with your wife with no difference between the two of you!!”
After 20 hours of torture, […] was referred to the prosecution charged of membership of the Muslim Brotherhood. His file was registered as administrative case no. […].
[…]’s lawyer has filed a complaint to the public prosecutor’s officer and the National Council for Human Rights.
Perhaps the formal complaint with the prosecutor’s office makes this fair game for public distribution, but absent confirmation, and given Imad al-Kabir‘s momentary retraction of his story in the face of intimidation after the details of his case were publicized, I’m erring on the side of caution.
It’s rare for members of the Muslim Brotherhood to face torture these days. Those who do tend to be young, rank-and-file members from the governorates, like this unfortunate man from Gharbeyya. More senior members, and members from Cairo, now generally say they are not physicaly abused in custody.
Update: Hossam reports on another Kifaya anti-torture initiative here.
what’s the point of reporting this? Look what happened to the latest vic. Unless you are prepared to help those victims post the media frenzy and campaign for them, you are doing them a disfavour. We don’t need another Emad case
Who says anyone isn’t willing “to help those victims post the media frenzy and campaign for them?”
I agree. We don’t need another Emad case. That’s the point in reporting incidents of torture when they happen: to keep them from happening.
Let’s look at what happened with the “Emad case:” The officers he identified as responsible for his torture are now in jail.
What would have happened if his case had not been reported? Emad would still have been in jail (his trial began in October, before the video surfaced), but the officers he named would be free.
And what’s the alternative, anyway? Should torture victims shut up and suffer in silence, and should the rest of us cover our eyes and pretend it doesn’t happen?
What have the valiant ‘rest of us’ done to support him after his trial? In fact i have heard precious little about him now since his conviction which i nearly missed because very little was said and done about it.
Was the aim of the media frenzy to help Emad get justice, or was it just an opportunity to have a go at the the system and a point scoring exercise for the Egyptian blogosphere?
I am not saying that these events should not be reported but a little wisdom is needed. This is Egypt, and the sensationalist style reporting doesn’t get the same results as it does elsewhere. Responsible reporting is essential and an anticiptation of the consequences for the person in question. Also asking the person in question (was consent obtained?) if he wants a video of himself being sodomised spread across the world should have been considered if his welfare was our utmost priority. I forgot, he ‘s a poor egyptian peasant, he won’t sue.
How can we help him now? How about showing that this is really about Emad by visiting him in jail every day and writing up what is happening to him there? If the system knows it’s being watched, it might just leave him alone. Will you do that?
Absolutely agree that the victim has to be the first priority in all these cases… which is why I redacted the details in this post.
Read the papers. You’ll be glad to find Imad’s case hasn’t gone away at all. Quite the contrary.
Would love to visit him every day in prison, but am not allowed. I’m very worried for him, and can only imagine how terrified he must be right now. I can only hope that his high profile will afford him some protection.