Court extends detention of teen who wore anti-torture T-shirt

A teenager arrested nearly two years ago faces another 45 days in prison after the Cairo Criminal Court ordered the renewal of his detention, the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) reported.

Mahmoud Mohamed Hussein has been held without charge in Cairo's Tora Prison since he was detained in 2014, and the courts have renewed his pretrial detention several times.

The 19-year-old was arrested on his way home in a microbus on January 25, 2014, wearing a T-shirt with an anti-torture slogan on it and a scarf commemorating the January 25, 2011 revolution.

Mohamed’s detention has prompted global outrage from both local and international human rights organizations.

Almost 145,000 people worldwide signed an Amnesty International petition this week calling for his release. The signatures were delivered to the prosecutor general ahead of his hearing on Tuesday.

“The irony is that while calling for a nation without torture, Mahmoud Hussein has himself been tortured and ill-treated by security officers during his arrest and in detention,” Amnesty claimed. 

Under the Penal Code detainees can be held in pretrial detention for up to two years. Other detainees have been held for over two years without trial or official charge, including the freelance photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid — known as Shawkan.

Mohamed told his family in July that two police officers visited his cell and physically assaulted him. He has also reported other incidents in which he was beaten in prison.

Mohamed’s family filed a complaint with the prosecutor general and an investigation has reportedly been opened, although the family have yet to be informed of any findings, according to Amnesty International.

The international rights organization reported in a statement released on Thursday that National Security officers electrocuted Mohamed's hands, back and testicles to coerce him into confessing that he belonged to a banned group, was in possession of Molotov cocktails and grenades, and was paid to participate in an unauthorized protest.

In an earlier statement, Amnesty called for “Egyptian authorities to release Mahmoud Hussein immediately and unconditionally as he is a prisoner of conscience, held solely for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom of expression.”