The police face yet more allegations of torture, reports Karim El-Khashab Ramadan Antar was arrested earlier this month on charges of brawling in public in the Moharem Bek district of Alexandria. It is not the first time he has been detained. He knows he is no model citizen, and tells Al-Ahram Weekly as much. He also expects to be mistreated whenever he is in a police station. The last time, though, he decided to do something about the mistreatment. A video clip that can now be accessed via the Internet shows Attar displaying the scars he says were the result of his most recent run in, and torture by, the police. Antar's story is as follows: about to be released after the brawling incident, one of the officers at the police station decided to teach him a lesson. Told to sit in an uncomfortable position he refused. Antar then says he was assaulted by the police officer and a second security official. "Then I was sent back to a cell and told that I would not be going anywhere." Later he alleges he was pulled out of the cell by yet another officer, known for his sadism towards detainees. This highly ranked officer began to punch him and then told junior police officers to remove his trousers and underwear. They hesitated, says Antar, but the officer in charge simply did it himself. Antar then says he was raped and beaten. The officer then repeatedly cut his chest and shoulders with a set of keys, leaving the scares Antar shows on the video. This torture went on for an hour, after which he was returned to his cell to await release. There fellow inmates convinced him that he should record his injuries and file a complaint. "As soon as I left that police station I recorded my injuries," says Antar. "I was not sure whether or not it would lead to anything but I could not stand the thought of doing nothing, and the other prisoners said they would testify in my support," he said. The Interior Ministry initially denied the allegations, though it summoned the officers accused for questioning, temporarily suspending them. As the investigation continued Antar, claims the ministry, withdrew his complaint, only to re-present it a few days later. "They [the police officers accused] threatened my family and so I had to go and lie and say that my trousers fell down by themselves and that the officers had nothing to do with it," says Antar. Then he had a second change of heart and now remains determined that those responsible should be held to account. The Interior Ministry says Antar's allegations are unsubstantiated, despite the testimony of his fellow inmates. Antar, claim ministry officials, has a police record and his testimony cannot be taken over that of a police officer. The video clip, though, continues to circulate on the Internet, and with new allegations of police brutality emerging almost daily -- among the most recent is the reported death of yet another prisoner at the hands of the police, this time in Fayoum -- the public is less willing than ever to accept blanket official denials.
