Human rights groups have demanded the findings of investigations into events surrounding the death of 32-year-old Sayed Bilal following allegations that the Salafi preacher had been tortured to death in Alexandria 24 hours after being arrested by State Security for possible links with the New Year's Eve bombing of a church in Alexandria. Rights groups stressed the need "to take all necessary steps to ensure that the victim's family is protected from threats made by security forces, which continue to exert pressure on the family to give up its rights." In a press statement, the Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies expressed concern over allegations--reported by local and international media agencies--that Bilal was tortured to death on Wednesday before being buried by police without his family's consent. The statement pointed to "strong indications" that Bilal had been tortured to death by police, noting that the incident was reminiscent of the recent cases of Khalid Saeed and Mustafa Attia, both of whom were tortured to death at the hands of policemen. The statement condemned the New Year's Eve bombing of the Alexandria church, but stressed the need for security agencies to observe their commitments to accepted human rights statutes when carrying out investigations. In related news, the Cairo-based Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) has called on the Attorney General and Minister of Interior to adopt a policy by which perpetrators of torture are put on trial immediately, in hopes that such a policy would help reduce the incidence of such crimes at police stations. In a statement on Saturday, the EOHR renewed its demand that the Minister of Interior issue strict instructions to all members of the police force to abide by the country's laws and constitution when dealing with citizens and to hold accountable anyone found violating these laws so as to ensure the personal security of all citizens. EOHR head Hafez Abu Saeda called for an immediate investigation into the latest incident. He also stressed the importance of adhering to human rights conventions and on the right to fair trial for anyone suspected of involvement in the Alexandria church attack. According to Abu Saeda, the legal definition of torture in Egyptian law is incompatible with the International Convention against Torture, which defines torture as "any physical or mental pain or suffering," as opposed to its definition under Egyptian law, which states that the term only applies to cases of forced confession. The latter definition, Abu Saeda said, can often lead to impunity for the perpetrators of torture. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
