World Organistaion Against Torture (Geneva) PRESS RELEASE March 8, 2002 Posted to the web March 8, 2002 Geneva The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Egypt. [ To visit the OMCT web site please click on www.omct.org ] Brief description of the situation. The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source of the arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of five men accused of being homosexual in Damanhour, Al-Beheira province, Egypt. According to the information received, five presumed homosexuals, Yasser Ahmed F., Mansour Hassan M., Ali Rizq M., Mohamed Ahmed H., and Samir Mahmoud A. (surnames are not given for their protection) were reportedly arrested by the Egyptian authorities on January 15th, 2002, along with three other men and two women, whose identities are currently unknown, and who were released without being charged. The case file (Damanhour Court of Misdemeanours, no. 2190/2002) reportedly states that Major Amir Nigm and Captain Hossam Abdou arrested the accused at Yasser F.'s apartment. The five men and Yasser F.'s lawyer have refuted this report as they claim that only Yasser F. and another man were arrested at the apartment, with one of the other men having been apprehended at his own home, and the other two men having been arrested while they were in the street. According to the report, the men were detained for four days at Damanhour Police Station Number One's detention facilities, where at least two of them were tortured through the use of electric shocks. The men were then moved to the Beheira Security Directorate, where they were reportedly beaten by officers. The men also claim to have been beaten on the sixth day of their detention, when they appeared before the Damanhour public prosecutor. After the first hearing before the public prosecutor they were taken to Damanhour Prison, where they were also subjected to torture by two prison officials and ten guards, at which point each man was reportedly beaten by two guards under the instruction of the officials (known as the "reception party," this practice is reportedly common in Egyptian prisons). According to the information received, as a result of the torture, the five men confessed to having had sex with men on different occasions, leading to them being charged under Article 9c of Law 10/1961 on the Combating of Prostitution for the "habitual practice of debauchery". In addition, they were also charged with "operating a house for the purpose of debauchery" under Articles 8 and 10 of the same law. The report states that only Yasser F. was interrogated, and that the others were forced to sign documents that they were not allowed to read. During this time they were not allowed access to legal counsel. The five men then reportedly underwent a forensic medical examination, which found they had been "used" (i.e. they had been passive partners in anal intercourse). According to the report, pre-trial detainees in Egypt often have difficulties in obtaining legal representation, as only they or their immediate family can sign documents authorising representation. The detainees, however, have very restricted contact with the outside world, and in cases such as this one, shame sometimes induces relatives to dissociate themselves from the accused. Yaser F. has reportedly hired his own leagal representation. Another lawyer, hired by activists in Cairo, has reportedly been repeatedly rejected by local officials. On January 23rd, 2002, the chief inspector of the Damanhour police, identified only as Yaseen Bey, allegedly refused to share information or present the lawyer in question with the police report. On January 26th, 2002, the Public Prosecutor reportedly ordered the men to be detained for an additional 45 days, and their legal representation was not allowed to be present at the hearing. On March 4th, 2002, a hearing was held. The hearing had been expected after the 45 days had been served, but the presiding judge, Mohamed Moktar, is believed to have changed the date to interfere with the defence. A new hearing will be held on March 11th, 2002. According to the information received, the men claim that their arrest was part of a police sweep for "perverts" linked to an investigation into the murder of a retired army officer, whose autopsy showed that he had been "used". Yasser F.'s name was reportedly found in the murdered man's address book, leading to his arrest, and other persons where brought into the case on similar grounds, although none of them have been charged to date. According to the defendants, the murder has become an excuse for pursuing charges of "debauchery". The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned about the ill- treatment and torture to which Yasser Ahmed F., Mansour Hassan M., Ali Rizq M., Mohamed Ahmed H., and Samir Mahmoud A. have reportedly been subjected while in detention, and is gravely concerned for their physical and psychological integrity. OMCT is also gravely concerned that they will not be granted a fair trial. OMCT condemns the Egyptian authorities continuing harassment of alleged homosexual persons. Action requested Please write to the authorities in Egypt urging them to: i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Yasser Ahmed F., Mansour Hassan M., Ali Rizq M., Mohamed Ahmed H., and Samir Mahmoud A.; ii. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times; iii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law; iv. ensure that they be granted access to legal representation, family visits and medical assistance as a matter of urgency; v. guarantee adequate reparation to all injured people; vi. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of the above-mentioned persons, and, more generally, all alleged homosexuals in Egypt; vii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards. Addresses - H.E. President Mohammad Hosni Mubarak, Abedine Palace, Cairo, Egypt, Fax : 202 390 199 98, Email : Webmaster@presidency.gov.eg - H.E. General Habib Ibrahim El Adly, Minister of the Interior, Al - Sheik Rihan Street, Bab al-Louk, Cairo, Egypt, Fax : 202 579 2031. Please also write to the embassies of Egypt in your respective country. Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply. |