Police responsible for 272 deaths in past 12 months, says rights group

Police violations led to 272 deaths during the past 12 months, according to a new report by Al-Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence, which documented police performance during President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s first year in office.

Al-Nadeem claimed that the 12-month period set out in the report, beginning when President Sisi took office in June 2014, has been the worst for human rights violations since the center was founded in 1993. Its documentation depended on media reports throughout the year.

“We issue this report in the hope that something will happen to put a limit on these crimes that have become a daily occurrence in the lives of Egyptians,” the report stated.

Instances of death at the hands of the police listed in the report include deaths in the street, in prisons and in police stations; all occurring across the country.

The report also documented 289 cases of torture, and 27 cases of group torture. The report states that violations that constituted torture included electrification, burning with cigarettes, suspension from the feet for extended periods, dog attacks and forced submergence in hot or cold water.

The report also documents other violations, including 97 cases of medical negligence, 16 cases of sexual assaults, and three cases in which family members of detainees were detained during detention visits.

Al-Nadeem’s report asserts that the Ministry of Interior is responsible for the well-being of detainees in its custody, thereby holding the ministry responsible for detainees who died due to complications of pre-existing medical conditions that deteriorated due to a lack of medical attention — including cases of diabetes, heart disease, asthma as well as one detainee suffering from liver cancer whose chemotherapy stopped after they were detained.

According to the report, 119 cases of forced disappearances were reported throughout the year. The report defines forced disappearances as cases where people are detained without going though prosecution or enabling their families or lawyers to contact or locate them for more than 48 hours.

In some cases, detainees were held incommunicado in unknown locations for months, according to the report.

Human Rights Watch issued a report earlier this month titled “A year of abuses under al-Sisi,” accusing the Egyptian government of carrying out human rights violations that had not been witnessed in the country for decades — detailing violent crackdowns on protests, illegitimate trials and violations in detention facilities.