Amnesty International Report 2006 - Egypt

Ninety people were killed and more than 100 injured in bomb attacks in Cairo in April and Sharm el-Sheikh in July. Scores of people were arrested in connection with the attacks and at least 14 people, including several police officers, were killed in shoot-outs between police and alleged suspects. Peaceful demonstrations calling for political reform were violently dispersed. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) continued to operate under a restrictive law introduced in 2002. Hundreds of members of the banned Muslim Brothers organization were arrested; scores of them remained held awaiting trial at the end of the year. Thousands of suspected supporters of banned Islamist groups, including possible prisoners of conscience, remained in detention without charge or trial; some had been held for years. Torture and ill-treatment in detention continued to be systematic. Deaths in custody were reported. In the majority of torture cases, the perpetrators were not brought to justice. At least two people were sentenced to death; no executions were known to have taken place.

Background

The nationwide state of emergency imposed in 1981 remained in force despite calls by human rights groups and others for it to be lifted.

President Muhammad Hosni Mubarak began a fifth term of office following an election in September, when for the first time other candidates were allowed to stand against him after the government amended Article 76 of the Constitution. The amendment was first proposed by President Mubarak in February and then approved by a national referendum in May, which some opposition parties sought to boycott. Nine candidates stood against the President in September, but he was returned by a large margin. There were some allegations of electoral fraud. In December Ayman Nour, leader of the al-Ghad party who came second in the election with less than 10 per cent of the poll, was prosecuted and jailed for five years, allegedly for fraudulently obtaining signatures to support his application to legalize his party. The prosecution provoked widespread international and national criticism.

Elections for a new parliament were held in three stages in November and December. They were marred by serious irregularities and by violence, including police shootings of voters, which left at least 11 dead and many others injured. Many supporters of candidates associated with the Muslim Brothers were detained by police, and many others were violently attacked by supporters of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) who were allowed to act with impunity. While the NDP kept its majority in parliament, the Muslim Brothers won 88 seats, six times more than they held in the previous parliament.

Egypt's government-sponsored National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) issued its first report in April, covering February 2004 to February 2005. It called for the abolition of the state of emergency, drew attention to continuing human rights violations, notably torture and ill-treatment, and made a number of recommendations.

In September, the European Union and Egypt began negotiating an Action Plan for Egypt within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy. Twenty-five Egyptian NGOs called for a stronger human rights agenda to be considered during negotiations.

Human rights violations in the 'war on terror'

New information emerged about Egypt's role in connection with the international "war on terror". While visiting the USA in May, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif stated that more than 60 people had been forcibly transferred to Egypt by US forces since September 2001. However, no Egyptian or US officials provided further details of the individuals concerned or their fate. In addition, the Egyptian authorities continued actively to seek the forcible return of alleged members of Islamist groups from abroad.

Scores of people detained following the bomb attacks on civilians at Taba and Nuweiba in October 2004 were released during 2005, but more than 100 others were still detained at the end of the year, many of them apparently held under administrative detention powers. Many of those released alleged that they had been tortured in detention.

• Ahmed Abdallah Raba', who was arrested in November 2004 in al-'Arish, was detained without charge for three and a half months, mostly without contact with his relatives or a lawyer. For most of that time, he was held at Istiqbal Tora prison. However, he was taken twice to the State Security Intelligence (SSI) headquarters in Cairo for interrogation where, he alleged, he was repeatedly tortured for a week by being beaten, hung by his wrists and ankles in contorted positions and subjected to electric shocks while all the time naked and with his eyes covered by a blindfold. He said that a doctor regularly checked on the health of torture victims while he was at the SSI headquarters.

Further arrests were made following the bomb attacks in Cairo in April and in Sharm el-Sheikh in July. Again, many of those detained were reportedly tortured and there were at least two deaths in custody in circumstances suggesting that torture or ill-treatment were contributory factors.

• Muhammad Suleyman Youssef and Ashraf Sa'id Youssef, two cousins, both died soon after being detained. Following the former's death on 29 April, his family was reportedly pressured by the authorities into signing a medical report which attributed his death to natural causes. Ashraf Sa'id Youssef, who was detained on the day that his cousin died, was held incommunicado for 13 days and his relatives only learned of his whereabouts when he was transferred to al-Minyal University Hospital with serious head injuries on 11 May. He died six days later. The Public Prosecutor said he caused his own injuries by repeatedly banging his head against his cell wall. No proper investigation was known to have been carried out.

The authorities generally failed to conduct prompt, impartial and thorough investigations into allegations of torture, especially in cases having a political or security aspect, where officials responsible for carrying out investigations were allowed to commit abuses with impunity. By contrast, there were several prosecutions of police officers accused of torturing, ill-treating or causing the deaths of suspects in ordinary criminal cases. There were reports that some torture victims had received compensation.

Defendants facing charges relating to national security or terrorism were frequently tried before courts established under emergency legislation or military courts, even when the defendants were civilians. These courts fail in many respects to satisfy international standards for fair trial; for example, they provide for no right of full judicial review before a higher tribunal.

• Muhammad Abdallah Raba' and Muhammad Gayiz Sabbah went on trial before the (Emergency) Supreme State Security Court at Ismailia in July, accused in connection with the Taba and Nuweiba bomb attacks of October 2004. Both defendants alleged at the trial's opening session, which AI observed, that they had been tortured by the SSI to force them to confess. They were then referred for medical examination, but a subsequent report dismissed their allegations and the court failed to order a thorough, impartial investigation. Although arrested in October 2004, they first had access to their lawyers only on the opening day of the trial.

Violence against women

In July, a coalition of 94 organizations and civil associations from various governorates launched a national campaign to criminalize all forms of domestic violence against women in Egypt. The launch was declared during a conference organized by the Nadim Centre for the Psychological Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence in the presence of a number of human rights and women activists.

Restrictions on freedom of expression, association and assembly

Restrictions on freedom of expression, association and assembly persisted. NGOs continued to operate under a restrictive 2002 law; some faced obstacles at the Ministry of Social Affairs when seeking to register and obtain legal status. For example, the Ministry turned down the Egyptian Association Against Torture's application to register, a decision subsequently upheld by an administrative court.

Journalists continued to be threatened, beaten or imprisoned because of their work. A Bill introduced by President Mubarak in February 2004 that would abolish prison terms for publishing offences was not made law.

On several occasions, police used excessive force against people demonstrating against government policies or to assert their basic rights. At other times, police stood back and took no action when supporters of the ruling NDP physically assaulted opposition supporters.

• Scores of demonstrators advocating a boycott of the May referendum to amend the Constitution and journalists working for opposition newspapers were assaulted, reportedly by NDP supporters. Some of the assaults allegedly took place in the presence of police who failed to intervene. The Public Prosecutor ordered an investigation into the assaults but closed it in December on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute.

• During the December parliamentary elections, police fired live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas into crowds seeking to vote at polling stations that police had closed or cordoned off in al-Daqahlia, al-Sharqia and other areas. At least 11 people were killed in the violence. No official investigation was known to have been held.

Refugees and migrants

In December, 27 Sudanese refugees and migrants were killed and others injured when police brutally dispersed what had been for three months a peaceful sit-in close to the offices of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Cairo. Police were said to have aimed water cannons at protesters and subjected them to indiscriminate beatings. The demonstrators, whose numbers had swelled to around 2,500 by December, were calling for improvements in their living conditions, protection from return to Sudan, and resettlement in Europe or North America.

Prison conditions

In September, up to 2,000 prisoners were released for health and humanitarian reasons, reportedly following recommendations by the NCHR. Thousands of other detainees were held in prisons where conditions amounted to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Hundreds held in administrative detention were reportedly suffering from illnesses including tuberculosis, skin diseases and paralysis, which were common because of lack of hygiene and medical care, overcrowding and poor food quality. Scores of them went on hunger strikes in May and June to protest against their ill-treatment and lack of adequate medical care.

• Relatives of hundreds of administrative detainees held a sit-in at the Lawyers' Syndicate's building in Cairo for several months prior to the September presidential elections. They were protesting against the continued detention of their relatives and the conditions of detention, which had caused health problems. They also demonstrated in October outside the Ministry of the Interior building in Cairo's Lazoghly Square to call for the release of their relatives, some of whom were thought to have been detained for more than a decade.

AI country visits

In June/July AI delegates met victims of torture and their families, families of administrative detainees, human rights activists, lawyers, and NCHR and government officials.