CAIRO: Four Indonesian students studying at the renowned Al Azhar University have alleged they were beaten and electrocuted by Egyptian police last week. An Indonesian government official, speaking by phone with Bikya Masr, said that this act is “despicable” and that his government “was searching for a proper reaction” for Cairo ahead of the non-aligned movement meeting later this month in Egypt. However, Indonesia Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda gave no indication of what his government's response would be on Monday. “We have heard the students were not given their basic rights as suspects while being interrogated,” he told reporters after opening a workshop on the Indonesian presidential election at the Sheraton Hotel in Tangerang, Banten. “We want to make sure such an incident does not happen again.” The official told Bikya Masr that the situation must be investigated completely before Jakarta will issue an official condemnation. “We are looking into all possibilities at the present moment and it will be some time before we make any demands of the Egyptian government,” the officail, who was not authorized to speak to the media, began, “but if it turns out that torture did occur the consequences will be real and great.” The foreign minister, in his comments published Monday, said Egypt has a history of political abuse and it is no surprise that rumors such as this may be true. “The political system is different there. The students should be careful … their duty is to study well,” he said. According to reports, Al Azhar University students Faturrahman, Arzil, Ahmad Yunus and Tasrih Sugandi were detained for three days after being arrested for their alleged involvement in extremist activities last week. They were reportedly beaten and repeatedly given electric shocks during interrogation. They said they were traumatized and felt insecure about continuing their studies. “My brother is afraid of picking up the telephone and planned to move out, while the other two fi rst year students are so afraid that they have planned to return to Indonesia,” Roudhatul Firdaus, Fathurrahman's brother, was quoted by Antara news agency. The Egyptian government said it was currently investigating the case and had not yet responded to the protest note sent by Indonesia's diplomatic mission in Cairo. Egypt's Ambassador to Indonesia Ahmed M. El Kewaisny said he had not received an official explanation from Cairo concerning the events of the arrest. “I do not know what happened exactly,” he told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview. In what could be an admittance of the torture, Kewaisny said that a similar incident would not happen in the future and those responsible for the alleged torture, if confirmed, would be brought to justice. “For 200 years we have received Indonesian students at Al-Azhar University.They are our brothers,” he said, adding the Egyptian government never had problems with them before. He also advised Indonesian students to avoid activities outside of campus, telling them: “Egypt is not Indonesia.” But human rights activists in Egypt doubt much will come of any investigation. “What has the Egyptian government done with police and security officers who beat and torture people,” the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights told Bikya Masr in a telephone statement on Wednesday. The organization has yet to investigate the incident, but their doubts are well-founded. Police in Egypt have been given a “slap on the wrist in the past for their actions, so why would this be any different.” BM
