Survivors of Nothingness – Part Three: Politics ... Chaos as a Tool of Governance    Egypt makes news oil, gas discoveries in Nile Delta    Egypt's exports to EU surge 7.4% to $8.7b in 8 months — CAPMAS    Egypt's Sisi hails Japan's first female PM, vows to strengthen Cairo-Tokyo ties    EU's Kallas says ready to deepen partnership with Egypt ahead of first summit    Egyptian pound shows marginal fluctuations versus dollar in early Wednesday trade    Egypt ramps up preparations for Grand Egyptian Museum opening    El-Shimy, UAE Ambassador discuss strengthening industrial, investment cooperation    Egypt's Finance Minister calls for new mechanisms for sustainable debt management    Fragile ceasefire in Gaza: Egypt's intelligence chief visits Israel to advance peace process    Egypt, Qatar discuss Gaza aid, bilateral cooperation    Egypt, France agree to boost humanitarian aid, rebuild Gaza's health sector    Egyptian junior and ladies' golf open to be held in New Giza, offers EGP 1m in prizes    The Survivors of Nothingness — Part Two    Egypt discusses troop deployment to Somalia with foreign minister    Egypt's PM reviews efforts to remove Nile River encroachments    Health Minister reviews readiness of Minya for rollout of universal health insurance    Egypt screens 13.3m under presidential cancer detection initiative since mid-2023    Egypt launches official website for Grand Egyptian Museum ahead of November opening    The Survivors of Nothingness — Episode (I)    Al-Sisi: Cairo to host Gaza reconstruction conference in November    Egypt, WHO sign cooperation strategy to strengthen health system through 2028    Egypt successfully hosts Egyptian Amateur Open golf championship with 19-nation turnout    Egypt: Guardian of Heritage, Waiting for the World's Conscience    Egypt, Qatar sign MoU to boost cooperation in healthcare, food safety    Egypt will never relinquish historical Nile water rights, PM says    Al Ismaelia launches award-winning 'TamaraHaus' in Downtown Cairo revival    Al-Sisi, Burhan discuss efforts to end Sudan war, address Nile Dam dispute in Cairo talks    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile actions, calls for global water cooperation    Egypt unearths New Kingdom military fortress on Horus's Way in Sinai    Egyptian Open Amateur Golf Championship 2025 to see record participation    Syria releases preliminary results of first post-Assad parliament vote    Karnak's hidden origins: Study reveals Egypt's great temple rose from ancient Nile island    Egypt resolves dispute between top African sports bodies ahead of 2027 African Games    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Selective investigations
Published in Al-Ahram Weekly on 13 - 09 - 2007

As the Interior Ministry is forced to investigate allegations of torture in police stations, it continues to insist such incidents are isolated, reports Karim El-Khashab
Two of the most widely publicised cases of police brutality to have emerged in recent months -- those of 12-year-old Mohamed Mamdouh in the village of Shaha, and of Nasser Mohamed in the village of Telbanah, both of whom died after being detained by the police -- took dramatic turns this week.
A second tripartite medical investigation team, consisting of officials from the health, interior and justice ministries, issued its report into the case of Mamdouh. Only the conclusion, which states that the boy's death was not caused by a severe chest infection, as the first investigation had claimed, was made public. The second investigation now claims the cause of Mamdouh's death to be a result of a botched surgical operation, compounded by negligence on the part of police officers in the station where Mamdouh was held.
That the report found no evidence of torture or abuse has prompted Mamdouh's family and lawyer to accuse the Interior Ministry of covering up the circumstances that led to the boy's death. The prosecutor-general's office has summoned the head of the Mansoura hospital where the boy was treated, as well as the doctor responsible for administering treatment and the officer in charge of the prison where he was held, for questioning. They are likely to be accused of negligence rather than of torture or murder.
The full report, which has not been released to the family's lawyers, insists there is no evidence of torture despite the testimony of five other inmates who say they witnessed Mamdouh being hit around the head by police officers who then left him without medical attention for four days before he was sent to the hospital.
"They didn't find any evidence of torture for the simple reason they did not look for any," says Hamdi El-Baz, the family's lawyer. As far as he knows, El-Baz continued, the report makes no mention of burns on Mohamed's back and the blows to his head, nor is there any explanation as to why he had to undergo an operation in the first place when he had no prior history of chest infections.
El-Baz is in the process of issuing a new complaint to the prosecutor-general's office accusing the police of unlawfully burying the boy and deliberately delaying any enquiry until the signs of torture on the body were less obvious. Meanwhile, the dead boy's family has set up camp in front of the prosecutor's office demanding that someone must take responsibility for his death.
The coroner's report into the death of Mohamed, who died in the same police station days before the 12-year-old boy, was far less equivocal. Mohamed, who was detained while police were searching for his brother, died as a result of injuries caused when a police officer struck him on the head with a wooden baton and he was then kicked repeatedly while on the floor. Two officers have been formerly charged, along with three lower ranking policemen. The head of the police station is also accused of taking LE6,000 from the victim.
Mohamed Shabanah, Mohamed's lawyer, said that additional charges of negligence and other offences against officers in the precinct would be filed soon. He added that despite a slow start to the investigation the evidence, both medical and from eye witnesses, was so overwhelming the authorities could not brush it beneath the carpet.
Addressing the difference with which the two investigations were treated, Shabanah points out that unlike Mamdouh's case people in Telbanah placed enormous pressure on the Interior Ministry by protesting during Mohamed's funeral.
Assistant Minister of Interior Lieutenant Samir Salam says cases are treated on an individual basis and that investigations are conducted independent of the ministry. Indirectly refuting a recent report by the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights into the prevalence of torture in police stations he added that statements made by human rights organisations into the issue were misinformed.
Such reassurances are unlikely to quell public concern in the light of the growing number of well-publicised incidents of torture. During a recent meeting at the Press Syndicate human rights activists joined to create a united front against such abuses. Government moves to ban the Organisation for Legal Aid in Human Rights met objections from 42 other rights organisations that immediately filed a counter suit -- one example of the growing resolve of the NGO to address an issue that is growing daily in momentum. Sooner, they hope, rather than later, the government will have to tackle the issue of torture on a systemic and not individual basis.


Clic here to read the story from its source.