Mr Abdessadek Zahran Shaheen, aged 54, resident of Tanta, was arrested outside his home during his daughter's wedding on 5 February 2009. The police officers violently beat him in the presence of numerous bystanders.
Having lost consciousness, he was transported to hospital, where all the doctors could do was register his death. According to authorities consulted by his family, an autopsy was performed on the victim, but to date no information has been communicated to his family.
Several similar cases have been noted, but despite requests for investigations or autopsies made by the families of the victims no responses have been given.
On 5 November 2006, Mr Ahmed Hassan Fouad, a 35-year-old businessman living in Alexandria, was arrested by the Mina Al Bassal police and taken to the station where he was held incommunicado.
The police eventually admitted that Mr Fouad had been detained, after initially denying it. One of the police officers finally allowed a member of his family to visit him.
Mr Fouad told the latter that he had been tortured every day, the evidence of which was particularly visible on his face. A few days later, his family was told that "he had committed suicide" by hanging himself.
His family has expressed doubts about the truth of these statements, particularly because of the height of the ceiling of the bathroom where he was found hanged, and especially because the bathroom was used by prison employees, not inmates.
His family petitioned the Attorney General to ask him to conduct an autopsy and carry out an investigation. To date they have received no reply. It is noteworthy that the two officers cited as responsible for the torture have been mentioned by many detainees tortured in police stations in the region, but have never been the subject of an investigation.
The 24-year-old Mohamed Neboua Abdelhafid, was arrested on 10/7/2007 at his home in Giza by police officers and taken to the Wassim police station. Witnesses reported to his family that he had been brutally tortured.
A few days after his arrest, the police informed his family that he had committed suicide by jumping from the fourth floor of the police station. No autopsy or investigation was ordered by the Attorney General despite the victim's family's requests.
Nasser Sadek Djadallah George, a 45-year-old businessman residing in Al Giza Muhafadat, had refused to pay a "tax" to a police officer known for extorting local businesses. He decided to lodge a complaint about this behaviour. A few days later, on 07 August 2007 at 5 am, colleagues of the officer accused of corruption raided Muhafadat's home, tore him out of bed and started punching and kicking him, shouting "So you're the one who wants to file a complaint against a police officer!" After an extended beating, they threw him out the window. He died shortly afterwards.
The police then claimed that he had committed suicide by jumping out of the window. Several family members witnessed the treatment he underwent before his death, and saw that he was thrown out the window by the police. Again, complaints lodged with the Attorney General came to nothing.
Sadly, these are not isolated cases. This practice is widespread and continues with impunity in Egypt.
Alkarama will inform the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions of these cases and requests that the Special Rapporteur on Torture ask the Egyptian authorities to respond to complaints from families of the victims cited above, and that the reported cases are investigated promptly, impartially and independently.