The general prosecution services of Sohag Governorate, located in Upper Egypt, have launched investigations into the alleged torture of an Egyptian man and his son at a local police station. Police prosecutors summoned Mohamed Abul Ezz, the officer alleged to have been involved in the incident, and a number of agents working with the Tama police department to investigate claims that Lotfy Hussein, 65, and his 25-year-old son Mahmoud were tortured. A report by a government-run hospital proved the victims suffered injuries to both their heads and hands, which prompted prosecutors to refer them to a medical examiner. Hussein's daughter, Asmaa, said Abul Ezz and the police agents escorted her father and brother to the police department on Saturday night and tortured them until the following morning. “The police officer arrived at our house at 9PM on Saturday, escorted by other colleagues," Asmaa said in the complaint she filed. "He said he would take my father to interrogate him in connection with some cases. He then picked my brother up on his way in a humiliating manner and without any reason.” The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights believes torture has become commonplace inside Egyptian police stations, and notes that some incidents even occur during daytime and in the middle of streets, constituting “an obvious violation of citizen's dignity and the freedom granted by the Constitution and international human rights declarations.” Translated from the Arabic Edition.
