The recent death of a Muslim Brotherhood detainee has cast an unequivocal light on prisoners' rights. Jailan Halawi reports Prison officials contacted the Muslim Brotherhood on Wednesday 9 June to inform the outlawed group that one of their members, 40-year- old engineer Akram Zuheiri, had died while in custody. The group was asked to pick up Zuheiri's body from a Cairo hospital. Initially, an Interior Ministry official said that Zuheiri's pelvic bone had been broken while he was being transported between detention facilities, and that he had died while being treated at the hospital, most likely from internal bleeding exacerbated by his diabetes. Considering the complexity of the relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood and the government, Zuheiri's death became an immediate matter for speculation. Initial press reports included allegations made by Brotherhood members that Zuheiri had actually died while being tortured at a police station. Zuheiri and 53 other Brotherhood members were arrested on 16 May as part of a continuing government crackdown on the group. Zuheiri and the others were rounded up during raids of homes and businesses across seven governorates. The suspects were charged by the state security prosecutor with sending the group's members to areas of political unrest like Iraq, Chechnya and Palestine to undergo military training, with the aim of eventually using those skills to help topple the Egyptian regime. The suspects -- all of whom denied the charges -- were remanded in custody pending further investigations. According to Brotherhood members, Zuheiri and his colleagues were then brutally tortured to force them to sign confessions to "cover up for the police's failure to provide incriminating evidence". Shortly after Zuheiri's death, the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) issued a statement urging an immediate investigation. The statement concurred with the official explanation of the cause of death, but blamed officials for possible negligence. When the vehicle transporting Zuheiri between detention facilities made a sudden stop, the statement said, Zuheiri was injured; he lost consciousness and was unable to move. While it was not clear why he did not receive medical treatment, the EOHR noted there was "clear [and] grave negligence" involved. Lawyers for the Brotherhood subsequently called for an investigation into Zuheiri's death, as well as the prison conditions of other Brotherhood members who remain in detention. Brotherhood sources said nearly 10 of the group's members currently in detention at a police station were being subjected to pressure to sign false testimonies. In parliament, Brotherhood MPs submitted a request for an investigation into the death. Two parliamentary committees were formed to investigate the case, as well as the conditions of the other detainees. The committees visited Tora Prison -- where Zuheiri was being held -- and heard testimony from his imprisoned colleagues. Their findings will be included in a report to be released in the coming days. Brotherhood lawyers said that as a result of the complaints they've filed with the prosecutor-general, the state security prosecutor would also be investigating the Zuheiri case, along with other torture allegations submitted on behalf of other detainees. After the detainees complained to prosecutors about being tortured, they were referred to the forensic lab for further examination, and ordered remanded in custody for an additional 15 days of further investigations. The Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners (HRAAP), meanwhile, issued a statement quoting Zuheiri's detained colleagues alleging, once again, that his death was a result of torture. The information, the group said, was based on first-hand conversations with the detainees at the state security prosecutor's office while their detention was being renewed and/or concluded. The HRAAP urged the prosecutor general to investigate the case, and bring those responsible to justice. The official Muslim Brotherhood reaction -- which accused prison officials of negligence -- surprised some observers. "We condemn the inhumane treatment that goes against all ethics and laws," the statement said. "Zuheiri was left in critical condition without receiving any medical attention for 10 days." The press speculated that the softer charge -- negligence rather than torture -- made by the group's official statement may have been the result of either an agreement with, or pressure by, the government to avoid an allegation of torture. Mohamed Mahdi Akef, the group's supreme guide, told Al-Ahram Weekly that Zuheiri died "due to another form of torture -- that of leaving an injured human being without treatment for 10 days, until he died". While expressing profound sorrow at Zuheiri's death, Akef also said he was deeply concerned about the fate of those still in detention. He urged an immediate halt to what he called "unjustified inhumane treatment". He hoped the parliamentary committee in charge of investigating the incident would reach an agreement to guarantee better prison conditions for the group members still in prison. A coalition of human rights groups, on the other hand, called for far more drastic measures to ensure an improvement in prisoners' rights. A statement issued by five human rights groups including the Hisham Mubarak Law Centre, the El-Nadeem Rehabilitation Centre, the Arab Information Network for Human Rights, the Egyptian Association Against Torture, and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, blamed Zuheiri's death on the Interior Ministry and "its mal-treatment of citizens". While urging an immediate and thorough investigation, the groups called upon the public to participate in a 26 June demonstration outside the prosecutor-general's office to protest against the police's use of torture and inhumane treatment. A security official speaking to the Weekly on customary condition of anonymity said, "there has undoubtedly been some sort of negligence that won't go unnoticed or paid for." In fact, just a few days after the incident came to light, Interior Minister Habib El-Adli announced the formation of a permanent committee within the prison system to review inmates' files. The press described the minister's move as an attempt to "activate and respect human rights". On Tuesday, a report issued by the forensic lab blamed Zuheiri's death on a sudden drop in blood pressure that resulted from his diabetic condition. The report indicated that there were no signs of physical abuse on his body. Another report regarding the condition of the other detained brotherhood members is expected to be issued in the coming few days. The security source said the Zuheiri incident did not "negate the numerous accomplishments made by the ministry in raising the standards of prisons and prisoners' conditions within available resources". While several Islamist militants have indeed recently expressed an improvement in prison conditions, if anything, the Zuheiri case makes clear that additional efforts are needed -- not only towards improving prison infrastructure and inmate accommodations, but at the level of making more of the ministry's personnel more aware of prisoners' rights.
