CAIRO: Kuwaiti authorities tortured two Egyptian men by spraying them with sulfuric acid, after which they detained them for 21 days solely on suspicion that they had forged work permits, their lawyer told Daily News Egypt. On July 24, 28-year-old Hossam Selim was arrested with his 25-year-old friend Gamal Abdel Shafy as they were leaving their rented apartment at El Khetan district in Kuwait at about 4 pm, Hassan Selim (Hossam's brother) told Daily News Egypt in a phone interview from Kuwait. He said that two Kuwaiti policemen asked to see their IDs and took them to the immigration investigation bureau without giving any valid reason for the sudden detainment. When they reached the bureau they were physically and verbally abused by four Kuwaiti policemen. Selim said the policemen beat them with metal rods and sprayed sulfuric acid on their backs, necks and reproductive organs after hanging them naked against a wall. "I don't know why they arrested them.the situation may have escalated when the policemen demanded to see their IDs, said Selim. He added that the police should have only arrested them for four days pending investigation, but the detainment continued until August, 21 without any legal charges. According to Selim, Hossam works in a consumer products company and had been living in Kuwait for six years, while Abdel Shafy has only been in Kuwait for six months and works for a Kuwaiti lawyer. Ashraf Abdel El Shafy, Gamal's brother, told Daily News Egypt in a phone interview that the Kuwaiti policemen had offered financial compensation to the two men to force them to withdraw the case and not to report the abuse to other authorities, but they refused. "They [the Kuwaiti policemen] offered them hush money so they wouldn't talk about the torture.they also promised to send them back to Egypt safely. But we all refused, said Abdel Shafy. He confirmed that both Hossam and Gamal had procured an authorized legal residence permit in Egypt before moving to Kuwait for work, stressing that all their documents are legal and official. Lawyer Youssef El Desht who is handling Hossam and Gamal's case in Kuwait, told Daily News Egypt in a telephone interview, that the Kuwaiti prosecution ruled yesterday that the four policemen will be released on 500 dinar bail, and decided that Hossam and Gamal will also be released on a bail of 200 dinars. "Although the prosecution has taken its decision, the police is refusing to implement the release order, claiming that the two men are charged in other crimes and cannot be released before an investigation is carried out, said El Deshet. But, he added, the Kuwaiti policemen were released Wednesday, while the two tortured Egyptians are still behind bars. El Desht alleged that the Kuwaiti policemen abuse their power and authority. "What happened to Hossam and Gamal is against all religions, laws and human values.the police in this country is misusing its power and abusing people. They are claiming that the two men attacked them and that's why they were arrested. This claim in itself proves that Gamal and Hossam have been tortured, said El Deshet. Ahmed El Kowesny, assistant foreign minister for counselor affairs of migration and refugees at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Egypt, told Daily News Egypt that Egypt rejects and condemns any act of torture targeting its citizens abroad. He said that Kuwaiti security may have suspected the two Egyptians were involved with a gang that forges documents, but, he added, they have been abused and tortured there, which is unacceptable. "We are following up with the updates of the case, but at the same time we will not allow the two men to return to Egypt before the Kuwaiti prosecution oversees the case and demands a forensic investigation to officially prove the physical abuse, said El Kowesny.
