By Salama A Salama Torture in Egypt is not confined to the security services. It is a culture that runs through every segment of society, fuelled at every step by religious fanaticism and powered by political and intellectual stagnation. The case of the young man who died in police custody in Alexandria is only one example of how bad things are. So bad indeed that even after the prosecution ordered the body to be re-examined, the nation is still reeling with horror at the alleged police brutality. Some people will tell you that torture is widespread in all Arab countries and even in the West and America. They will tell you that the security services and the intelligence services used torture since Gamal Abdel-Nasser's time and that was how the country stayed together and fended off its enemies. They will tell you that to fight terror, some torture is needed. Egypt claims to have gone a long way in fighting torture, we're told. Some torture suspects have been brought to justice. And government officials are pleased that the UN Human Rights Council has endorsed Egypt's revision of parts of its penal code to bring it into line with the UN Convention Against Torture. Still, I don't feel that much has changed. With the emergency laws extended, I don't see much progress on torture or on the release of detainees. In fact, Egypt has refused to join the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT). This is because OPCAT calls for inspection of sites of detention and for the discontinuation of any practices that can be construed as torture. Now that the Americans are worried over the Alexandria case, you may expect the Egyptian government do something about the use of torture as a means of getting suspects to talk, as a method of intimidating political activists, or as a way of throwing its weight around. Torture is being used in this country as a means of punishing political opponents. It has also been found useful in spreading a climate of fear and compliance at times of elections. Claiming to be a democratic country, Egypt has signed all international treaties guaranteeing human rights. But its international obligations have failed to prevent serious violations from happening on a scale that undermines confidence in the government and scuttles the relationship between police and the people. True, our state departments are now organising courses to teach human rights, but all around us torture continues to take place and the toll on human dignity is considerable. One of the worst aspects of the culture of torture is the way in which it seeps down to all other strata of society. Open the crime page and you'll see a woman torturing her maid and branding her with fire. You'll read of beatings at schools, by teachers and students alike. And perhaps you've heard of the rehab clinic where patients were being beaten and treated with electric shocks administered by thugs who got paid for it. Torture may or may not exist in advanced societies. But it becomes a dominant culture only in backward societies, where despotism rules. It is only in tyrannical states that humans have no right to dignity and every class finds another class to abuse. When people are asked to obey without discussion, when they are deprived their powers of thought and denied their free will, this is when torture thrives. This is when torture becomes a way of life. It is when it becomes part and parcel of the social system.
