As Foreign Ministry celebrates Human Rights Day, local groups decry torture, murder in police stations

Egypt is fully committed to the International Declaration of Human Rights, the Foreign Affairs Ministry pronounced in a statement issued Thursday to mark International Human Rights Day. But local rights organizations countered with a statement and press conference of their own lambasting security forces for committing grave, and often deadly, human rights abuses.

“December 10 is a good opportunity to renew the commitment to preserving the shared history of human civilization, and international cooperation for supporting the principles of human rights,” the ministry statement said. The International Declaration of Human Rights remains a bedrock for the Egyptian state during this challenging time as it works to defend the people’s right to life, freedom and security, the statement continued.

The accord is also crucial in Egypt’s fight against terrorism, extremism and racism, the ministry added.

The statement was issued a few hours before a press conference organized by local advocacy groups to condemn Egypt’s human rights records. The “Violations are not individual acts” presser shared documented cases of torture in police stations and forced abductions committed by security personnel, as well as other allegations of rights violations perpetrated by the government.

The organizations decried what they called the Interior Ministry’s ongoing and systematic oppressive practices in a statement released before the presser. A report issued by Al-Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence documented 49 cases of torture in detention facilities in November alone, the statement pointed out. In nine of those cases, the victims were tortured to death.

Such reports suggest the Interior Ministry has a free pass “to harass civilians through illegal practices including torture, forced disappearances and other repressive measures, and systematic violations against basic rights and freedoms of citizens,” the statement claimed.

At the press conference, which was co-coordinated by the Journalists Syndicate, the rights groups presented a number of recommendations to the government to address ongoing violations such as torture, arbitrary detention and the murder of detainees.

The recommendations included amending Article 126 of the Penal Code, which defines torture as acts perpetrated to coerce a suspect to confess to a crime. But this definition disregards other forms of torture, the rights groups said. They called for the article’s definition of torture to be expanded and to allow victims of torture to press charges against the perpetrators.

The current law only allows the prosecutor general to press such charges.

The organizations also called for a draft law criminalizing torture, and imposing harsher sentences in line with the Constitution and the international accords for human rights of which Egypt is a signatory. They further demanded the establishment of a judicial police force independent of the Ministry of Interior.

An independent committee should be appointed to investigate cases in which police forces killed or severely injured detainees, the groups argued.

The prosecutor general must also fulfill his role of conducting surprise inspections at detention facilities at least once a month, as the Constitution stipulates, they said.

Finally, the rights groups urged Egypt to sign the United Nation’s Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and amend the Constitution accordingly. They also called for a clear definition of forced disappearances in the Penal Code. 

Thursday’s press conference comes as a response to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s insistence that incidents of torture in police stations are rogue acts committed by individuals, and do not represent state policies. In a speech at the Police Academy last week, Sisi praised the performance of security forces and said the police play a crucial role in ensuring the stability of the country.

Sisi warned against blaming the security apparatus as a whole for these isolated incidents. “There are 300 police stations across Egypt, and violations only occur in one or two,” he said. “Anyway, I'm not here to talk about that. I'm here to thank you.”

Public anger against security forces has been mounting as reports of police brutality continue to pile up. Two people were tortured to death in police stations in Luxor and Ismailia this month, galvanizing thousands of people to take to the streets to protest against the police. The public outcry prompted prosecutors to arrest the officers implicated in the deaths and launch an investigation.

On social media, the hashtag #مفيش_حاتم_بيتحاكم  (No Hatem is sent to trial) began trending after the Luxor and Ismailia deaths, inspired by a slogan used by graffiti artists in Luxor. Hatem was the name of a low-ranking police officer played by late actor Khaled Saleh in the film Heya Fawda (Chaos, 2007), directed by Youssef Chahine and Khaled Youssef, which addresses Mubarak-era police brutality and corruption.

The Journalists Syndicate held a press conference on Monday to launch the “We will release them" campaign, lambasting the Interior Ministry for arresting dozens of journalists over the past two years.

The recent arrest of journalist and political sociology researcher Ismail Alexandrani is the latest high-profile case in the ongoing targeting of media workers. Alexandrani was arrested at Hurghada Airport last week on his way back to Egypt from Berlin. He was remanded in custody for 15 days pending investigations into charges of joining a banned organization and spreading false news. His family, lawyers and international rights organizations have all decried the arrest as the state's retaliation against Alexandrani’s critique of government policies in his reportage on Sinai and other current events in Egypt.