Thousands demand release of teenager arrested 2 years ago for wearing anti-torture shirt

Almost 145,000 people from around the world have signed an Amnesty International petition demanding the release of 19-year-old Mahmoud Mohamed Hussein, who has been held without charge in Cairo’s Tora Prison for almost two years.

Mohamed was arrested while he was headed home on a microbus on January 25, 2014 for wearing an anti-torture T-shirt and a scarf commemorating the 2011 uprising. Since then, courts have repeatedly renewed his pretrial detention without formally charging him.

Amnesty delivered the thousands of signatures calling for Mohamed’s release to the prosecutor general this week. At his next court date on November 16, the judge could rule to extend Mohamed’s detention by another 45 days or release him.

The Egyptian Penal Code stipulates that detainees can only be held for a maximum of two years in jail without being convicted of a crime, but a number of people are being held beyond that ceiling in violation of the law, Amnesty noted.

Amnesty called Hussein a prisoner of conscience, “detained solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression,” in a statement issued Thursday.

“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 said.

The rights group said 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 July, Mohamed told his family during a visit that two police officers had physically assaulted him in his cell, the family said in a Facebook statement. This was not the first time he reported being abused in prison.

Hussein’s family filed complaints about these allegations with the prosecutor general, Amnesty said. An investigation has reportedly been opened, but the family has yet to be informed of the findings.