A Voice for the Voiceless

Torture Endemic in Egypt

By Kevin Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – Torture is endemic in Egypt. In less than a week, two separate incidents of Egyptian torture have surfaced on media, raising concerns over the country’s current human rights condition.

On Monday, an Egyptian court jailed two police officers for three years each for torturing a bus driver during police custody. Although a trial featuring police officers accused of torture was nothing new in Egypt, it was the first case involving a video that was circulated on the Internet.

In January 2006, Emad el-Kebir was detained for trying to stop an argument between his cousin and a policeman. Following his release, he was arrested again and was jailed for three months after a judge found him guilty of resisting arrest. El-Kabir later filed a complaint about his mistreatment during detention.

In November 2006, several Egyptian bloggers posted a video, which also later appeared on the popular video-sharing site YouTube, showing el-Kebir naked from the waist down being sodomized with a stick. As he screamed in pain, the officers ridiculed him. He was also hit with shoes, a whip, and a gun. The video was apparently filmed by the assailants on a mobile phone, and was circulated in order to intimidate others.

El-Kabir, who was in court to hear the verdicts against officers Islam Nabih and Reda Fathi, rejoiced the ruling. “God is great! Thank God!” he shouted. “I regained my right. I don’t want anything more than that.”

Torture is widespread in Egypt because suspects are often held in incommunicado for long time and police interrogations take place without restraint. A few days after el-Kebir’s victory, a man’s body was found on the street in Giza. He had been tortured by police for three days, and eventually died.

The Egyptian authorities deny all allegations of systematic torture in the country and insist that these cases are isolated incidents.

For More information, please see:

BBC News – Egyptian man dies ‘after torture’ – 7 November 2007

News 24 – Man dies after police torture – 7 November 2007

Human Rights Watch – Police officer get three years for beating, raping detainee – 7 November 2007

Associated Press – 2 cops sentenced for torture – 5 November 2007

BBC News – Egypt police jailed for torture – 5 November 2007

BRIEF: Tongan Mother Seeks Inquiry Into Son’s Death

NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga – Saane Fifita is calling for an inquiry into her son’s death after seeing footage showing him alive in front of the burning building in which he is said to have died during last year’s riots.  Former Tonga Police Commander Senilau Kolokihakaufisi, who was the police commander at the time of the riots, said that he did believe that Senituli Fifita died in the building, and suggested that he re-entered the burning building to loot it.

However, Saane Fifita has also heard, from a senior police detective, that her son was taken into custody and beaten by police.  A study on the treatment of riot prisoners has shown that 53% of those arrested were abused at the hands of the police.  Kolokihakaufisi does not believe the report to be accurate, though he does concede that it was one of his own men who reported the beating to Saane Fifita.

For more information, please see:

ONE News – Mother seeks independent inquiry over son’s death – 05 November 2007

Pacific Magazine – Tongan Mother Wants Inquiry Into Son’s Death – 07 November 2007

Kenyan Police Blamed for Killings

By Elizabeth Costner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya – The Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights (KNHCR) has accused the police of carrying out hundreds of extrajudicial executions during an operation against the Mungiki criminal sect. 

The Mungiki are a politico-religious group and a banned criminal organization in Kenya.  Earlier this year, the Mungiki gang went on a spree of beheadings and killings after clashing with the police in Nairobi.  Late last month local human rights groups accused the police of executing suspected members and dumping their bodies outside Nairobi when the morgue was filled to capacity.

KNHCR announced Monday that it has evidence that almost 500 suspects were shot and their bodies dumped during the past five months.  While not explicitly blaming the police for the deaths, the report does state that “circumstantial evidence” linked the police to the killings and that the force seemed to be blocking efforts to find the killers. 

The commission has called for a probe led by international experts and the UN to verify their investigation.  KNHCR’s Njonjo Mue announced today that post mortem reports on some of the suspects confirm that they were shot at close range.  Mr. Mue, the head of advocacy, explained to journalists that the reports show the cause of death was multiple organ injures due to multiple gun shots and that pathologists concluded the fatal bullets were shot from behind.   This supports the commission’s findings that the suspects were executed. 

The Police Commissioner, Hussein Ali, has accused KNHCR of spoiling the name of police to justify its existence.  Ali stated, “The police takes great exception to the grave accusations make recklessly by KNHCR, accusing police of involvement in the murder of missing persons.  These are allegations without a shred of evidence.” 

On Tuesday the police chief held a press conference, in which he rebuked the human rights investigators.  He emphasized that the KNHCR has no investigation experience and that Kenya’s legal system requires any crime to be reported to the police.   Therefore, any action taken outside that legal framework is illegal and unacceptable. 

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Post mortems on executed Kenyans – 7 November 2007

AllAfrica.com – Kenya: Ali Dismisses KIAI’s Report on Executions – 7 November 2007

AllAfrica.com – Kenya: Show Us Evidence on Killings, Says Ali – 7 November 2007

Time – Kenya Accused of Mass Killings – 6 November 2007

Reuters Africa – Kenya’s police deny killing hundreds of Mungiki suspects – 6 November 2007

AP – Kenyans Blame Police for Killings – 6 November 2007

BRIEF: Man dies after torture by Egyptian police

Egyptian Ahmed Saber Saad died Tuesday in a Giza hospital.  Saad was admitted to the hospital because of wounds he incurred during the police’€™s three day interrogation of him.  After the police’€™s interrogation, the police dumped Saad off near the Pyramids.

An official at the scene reported that Saad €œwas unconscious with wounds and bruises all over his body when some locals found him and took him to a hospital.€  (International Herald Tribune)   Egypt’€™s prosecutor general has ordered an immediate investigation into interrogation of Saad.

For more information, please see:

International Herald Tribune- Officials: Egyptian feared tortured by police, found near Giza Pyramids, dies- 6 November 2007

New York Times (AP)- Egypt: Police Officers Guilty of Torture- 6 November 2007

Arrests Accompany Allegations of Assassination Attempt

By Ryan L. Maness
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji– On Monday, sixteen people were arrested on charges of the attempted assassination of Fiji’s Interim Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama. Of these sixteen, ten have been issued formal charges including mutiny, conspiracy to commit murder and treason. However, at the time of this writing, all treason charges have been dropped.

Details of the plot are still unclear, but Bainimarama issued a statement that he was, “Happy to be alive.” He stated that the authorities had, “uncovered a situation which, if not foiled, would have led to serious unrest, bloodshed and instability in Fiji.” No more specific details of the alleged plot were given, other than it could be blamed on “disgruntled groups” within Fiji that opposed his march away from corruption.

The accused represented a laundry list of Fijian businessmen and politicians, as well as two New Zealand Nationals. Among the accused are Naitasiri paramount chief and former government senator, Ratu Inoke Takiveikata and senior military official Lt Col Jone Baledrokadroka, the former director of the dissolved Fiji Intelligence Service, Col. Metuisela Mua, former MP Peceli Rinakama, and six former soldiers from the CRW unit. The CRW unit carried out another coup in May 2000.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has decried the actions of the interim government, saying that the arrests represented an attempt to silence Bainimarama’s critics.  Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has called the allegations, “completely absurd.” For himself, Bainimarama believes downplayed the international scrutiny, saying that the neither the Australian nor New Zealandgovernments had been directly implicated. Further, he believed that the issued had been stirred up by “sensational reporting”.

New Zealand, at least, argues that it does have a direct interest in the arrests, because one of its nationals, Ballu Khan, was reportedly beaten by Fiji officials. Reports vary concerning the extent of his injuries. Police chief Esala Teleni stated that Khan had experienced “minor injuries” when he resisted arrest, but other reports indicate that his injuries were so extreme that he was unable to speak. A hospital told Reuters that Khan was diagnosed with a broken jaw and rib. The New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister, Winston Peters, said that his government has not yet been given access to Khan.

The court has decided to postpone hearing pleas and establishing bail until Wednesday morning.

For more information, please see:

The Australian — Fiji plot accused set for court – 07 November 2007

Fiji Times Online — Confusion over plot charges — 07 November 2007

BBC News — Bainimarama defends Fiji arrests — 06 November 2007

Radio New Zealand International– 10 people charged over alleged Fiji assassination plot — 06 November 2007

BBC News — Alleged plotters charged in Fiji — 05 November 2007