By Kevin Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – A culture of impunity is still widespread in Egypt, and those who criticize it are punished by the government.

Two Shiite activists were recently arrested for spreading “false rumors” on torture in Egyptian prisons. Mohammed Al Dereini was arrested at his home for alleging the government’s prevalent torture of Islamist detainees in prisons in his book Hell’s Capital. Ahmed Mohammed Sobh was arrested for telling a newspaper that “hundreds of people had been killed in a secret torture center.” Both men are being held in solitary confinement in Tora prison outside of Cairo and the charges against them may result in imprisonment for up to 8 years.

Al Dereini and Sobh have both been detained in the past. Al Dereini spent 15 months in prison without charge in 2004 and 2005. Though Al Dereini complained that he was tortured in detention, the public prosecutor never investigated his claims. Authorities released Sobh in 2005 after holding him for 15 years without trial.

Torture is systematic in Egyptian jails and police stations. Typically, authorities torture political dissidents to obtain information and coerce confessions. Sometimes, officials torture solely to punish, intimidate, or humiliate. Police also detain and torture family members to obtain information and force a wanted relative to surrender. But over the recent years, torture has become epidemic, affecting even ordinary citizens who are under criminal investigations.

Most torture allegations are overlooked even though the Egyptian authorities have obligation to investigate under Egyptian and international law. In the few cases where prosecution does occur, officers often face inadequately lenient penalties. And those who question this apparent lack of effective public accountability and transparency such as Al Dereini and Sobh are prosecuted, thus breeding a culture of impunity.

For more information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – Activists detained for advocating for Shi’a minority – 6 October 2007

Middle East Times – Shiite activists arrested in Egypt over torture book – 3 October 2007

Reuters – Egyptian police detain Shiite Muslim activist – 3 October 2007

Human Rights Watch – Government detains Al-Jazeera journalist – 17 January 2007

Human Rights Watch – Egypt’s torture epidemic – February 2004