A US report on Egypt's allegedly-bleak human rights record ignites the government's anger. Gihan Shahine ponders the implications Many analysts would agree that the United States has recently been adopting a softer tone when urging reforms and democratisation in Egypt. But it remains questionable whether this respite of almost two years will last much longer, now that the US is lashing against the Egyptian government in an annual report issued by the State Department on human rights practices. The report has prompted a speedy and sharp response from the Egyptian government. Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul- Gheit on Saturday accused the US of interfering in its affairs. Human rights activists, however, said human rights conditions are "far worse in Egypt than that mentioned in the report," noted Mohamed Zarie, head of the Egyptian Association for the Assistance of Prisoners. The report, released by the Bureau of Democracy on 6 March, was highly critical of the National Democratic Party's (NDP) dominance over national politics, and the government's "poor" respect for human rights which resulted in the continuation of "serious abuses" in many areas. Among those abuses, the report noted, was "the limitations on the right of citizens to change their government; a state of emergency, in place almost continuously since 1967; torture and abuse of prisoners and detainees; poor conditions in prisons and detention centres; impunity; arbitrary arrest and detention." The report also detailed restrictions on the judiciary and civil liberties -- freedoms of speech and press, including Internet freedom. Women, according to the report, face discrimination and violence, including female genital mutilation, while corruption and lack of transparency are rife. Although no report of deaths in custody in police stations or prisons was confirmed, the report regretted that neither the government nor NGOs have even tried to investigate the death of many detainees, such as that of 19 Islamist prisoners who died of unspecified causes during six months in captivity. The State Department also quoted reports by the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) that 81 detainees were tortured to death inside police stations between 2000 and 2004 and that 21 detainees were reportedly tortured to death in police stations between April 2004 and July 2005. The number of those dying in captivity may be bigger since the report says "torture is pervasive in Egyptian detention centres" and is employed to extract information or force confessions. "Principal methods of torture reported included stripping and blindfolding victims; suspending victims from a ceiling or door frame with feet just touching the floor; beating victims with fists, whips, metal rods or other objects; using electrical shocks; and dousing victims with cold water," the report said. Some victims, including male and female detainees and children, reported sexual assaults or threats of rape against them or family members, the report added. More regrettably, perhaps, is the fact that many of the reported cases have yet to be investigated. According to the report, the public prosecutor, for instance, closed investigation into assaults made on 25 May 2005 (the day a national referendum was conducted) when "pro-government thugs, allegedly including undercover security personnel, attacked several groups of opposition protesters and journalists, and sexually assaulted several women journalists and protesters." The public prosecutor said it was not possible to identify the perpetrators, when many of them were actually documented on video as they assaulted opposition demonstrators and journalists. "No police officers were prosecuted over the abuses," the report said. Many of the deaths that are reported by security forces remain similarly unresolved. The report noted,in this regards, that the Egyptian government was reluctant to cooperate with the UN special rapporteur on such issues. The government, for instance, did not conduct any public investigation or disciplinary proceedings in the killing of 11 people by security forces during the parliamentary elections of November and December 2005. Although the government exerted efforts to hold some security personnel accountable for torturing prisoners, the report said that more often than not, police officers convicted of serious abuses were given only light sentences. Sometimes sentences were simply suspended as in the case of police captain Ahmed Tawfik who was convicted of abusing opposition activist Mohamed Hegazi while in captivity in April 2005, according to the report. Torture does not seem to be the only cause of death while in captivity. The report revealed how prison conditions remained poor, noting overcrowded cells and a lack of medical care, proper hygiene, food, clean water, proper ventilation, and recreational activities. This may account for why the government does not permit visits by international human rights observers. And, not all those suffering from torture and poor prison conditions are necessarily guilty. The report shows how the emergency law allowed for the massive arrests of hundreds of individuals, including peaceful demonstrators, members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and Internet bloggers, without charge and without any access to lawyers prior to a trial. Many of the detainees may also be referred to an emergency or military court in which they do not receive most of the constitutional protections provided by the civilian judicial system, according to the report. Many of the detentions are sometimes politically motivated. In that respect, the report shed light on two major cases: that of Ayman Nour, runner-up in the 2005 presidential elections and leader of the opposition Al-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party, and Talaat El-Sadat, nephew of former President Anwar El-Sadat. Nour was convicted in 2005 of forging proxy signatures on his party's registration papers, but human rights organisations said his detention and trial had been "politically motivated and failed to meet basic international standards," the report noted. El-Sadat was sentenced to one year of prison with hard labour and no possibility of appeal for defaming the Egyptian military. El-Sadat had publicly alleged that the military, including Mubarak, then vice president, had conspired to assassinate President El-Sadat in 1981. Many journalists, including chief editor of the independent Al-Dustour Ibrahim Issa were similarly convicted of libel, as well as for expressing their views on political and religious issues, the report said. Under emergency law, the report added, security agencies are allowed to place political activists, suspected subversives, journalists, foreigners and writers under surveillance, screen their correspondence, search them and their homes and confiscate personal property without warrants. The report also detailed restrictions on freedom of assembly in numerous incidents when authorities showed little tolerance for demonstrations by opposition groups and activists protesting against government policies. Many of the protesters, including activist Mohamed El-Sharqawi, were detained and reported that police tortured and sexually assaulted them. "All prior talk of democratisation and reform has practically ended since 2005, following the parliamentary and presidential elections," Zarie noted. "A spate of violations has escalated since then, with the US turning a blind eye to those violations." For Zarie, the US report is no more than "routine work, without any significance", since it does not provide anything new, or lead to any action on the part of the Egyptian or US government to stop the violations. "The US has too many interests in the region to take any action against its allies," he concluded.
