Egypt
29.07.02
Urgent Interventions
Egypt: 26-year old Mr. Mostafa Labeeb Hemdan was subjected to torture before dying in Shoubra Police Station
Case EGY 290702
Torture / Death in Detention
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Egypt.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), a member of the OMCT network, that 26-year old Mr. Mostafa Labeeb Hemdan was subjected to torture before dying in Shoubra Police Station, Egypt, on July 3rd, 2002.
According to the information received, Mr. Hemdan had previously served a three years prison sentence for causing permanent injury, having cut someone’s finger off. In 1998 Mr. Hemdan was caught while in possession of a weapon and was sentenced in absentia to a three-year prison sentence (case no.157 of 1998 Shoubra Misdemeanours). Mr. Hemdan filed an appeal but was only transferred to Shoubra Police Station in 2002, where he was presented before the Investigations Unit. The Investigations Unit re-considered Mr. Hemdan’s case, as he had been sentenced in absentia, and scheduled Mr. Hemdan for re-trial before Shoubra Prosecution on June 23rd, 2002. Mr. Shoubra’s sentence was reduced from a further three years to one year and a 100L.E. fine as a result of the re-trial. Mr. Hemdan was then kept in preventive detention for a 10-day period at Shoubra Police Station, while awaiting his transferral to prison. During this period Mr. Hemdan’s family visited him and claimed to have found him in good health.
According to the report, at 5 a.m. on July 3rd 2002, Mr. Hemdan’s family was informed by their neighbours that Mr. Hemdan had died in Shoubra Police Station. Mr. Hemdan’s body was transferred to the Shoubra Public Hospital, where medical report no. 140 was issued by the hospital on the same day, which stated that Mr. Hemdan bore visible signs of torture. Mr. Hemdan had abrasions on his hands and abdomen, as well as bruises on his face, back abdomen and chest, and a small wound on his back. The report also stated that the body would be transferred to the morgue and be at the disposal of the prosecution tasked with investigating his death.
According to the information received, the Shoubra Public Prosecutor wrote report no. 2867, 2002, in which the order was given to transfer the body of Mr. Hemdan to Zenhom Forensic Medicine Hospital, which would examine the body and produce a report on the injuries, including: the cause of death, the date of death and the objects that may have caused the injuries. Mr. Hemdan’s family filed a complaint to the Public Prosecutor, appealing for him to investigate the incident. The prosecution is now carrying out an investigation into Mr. Hemdan’s death.
The International Secretariat of OMCT welcomes the investigation being led into the allegations of the use of torture and the subsequent death in detention of Mr. Mostafa Labeeb Hemdan. However, OMCT is gravely concerned about yet another report of the Egyptian Police’s use of arbitrary arrests, detentions, alleged use of torture and resultant deaths in detention. OMCT fears that the perpetrators of these human rights violations will continue to enjoy impunity and that Mr. Hemdan’s family will not be granted adequate reparation.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Egypt urging them to:
· order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events and
· guarantee that those responsible are brought to trial and that the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions are applied as provided by law;
· guarantee adequate reparation to the family of Mr. Mostafa Labeeb Hemdan;
· 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, Email : Webmaster@presidency.gov.eg
· H.E. Faruq Sayf al-Nasr, Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, Midan Lazoghly, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: +202 795 8103, E-mail: mojeb@idsc.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, e-mail: moi@idsc.gov.eg.
Please also write to the embassies of Egypt in your respective country.
Geneva, July 29th, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Torture / Death in Detention
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Egypt.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), a member of the OMCT network, that 26-year old Mr. Mostafa Labeeb Hemdan was subjected to torture before dying in Shoubra Police Station, Egypt, on July 3rd, 2002.
According to the information received, Mr. Hemdan had previously served a three years prison sentence for causing permanent injury, having cut someone’s finger off. In 1998 Mr. Hemdan was caught while in possession of a weapon and was sentenced in absentia to a three-year prison sentence (case no.157 of 1998 Shoubra Misdemeanours). Mr. Hemdan filed an appeal but was only transferred to Shoubra Police Station in 2002, where he was presented before the Investigations Unit. The Investigations Unit re-considered Mr. Hemdan’s case, as he had been sentenced in absentia, and scheduled Mr. Hemdan for re-trial before Shoubra Prosecution on June 23rd, 2002. Mr. Shoubra’s sentence was reduced from a further three years to one year and a 100L.E. fine as a result of the re-trial. Mr. Hemdan was then kept in preventive detention for a 10-day period at Shoubra Police Station, while awaiting his transferral to prison. During this period Mr. Hemdan’s family visited him and claimed to have found him in good health.
According to the report, at 5 a.m. on July 3rd 2002, Mr. Hemdan’s family was informed by their neighbours that Mr. Hemdan had died in Shoubra Police Station. Mr. Hemdan’s body was transferred to the Shoubra Public Hospital, where medical report no. 140 was issued by the hospital on the same day, which stated that Mr. Hemdan bore visible signs of torture. Mr. Hemdan had abrasions on his hands and abdomen, as well as bruises on his face, back abdomen and chest, and a small wound on his back. The report also stated that the body would be transferred to the morgue and be at the disposal of the prosecution tasked with investigating his death.
According to the information received, the Shoubra Public Prosecutor wrote report no. 2867, 2002, in which the order was given to transfer the body of Mr. Hemdan to Zenhom Forensic Medicine Hospital, which would examine the body and produce a report on the injuries, including: the cause of death, the date of death and the objects that may have caused the injuries. Mr. Hemdan’s family filed a complaint to the Public Prosecutor, appealing for him to investigate the incident. The prosecution is now carrying out an investigation into Mr. Hemdan’s death.
The International Secretariat of OMCT welcomes the investigation being led into the allegations of the use of torture and the subsequent death in detention of Mr. Mostafa Labeeb Hemdan. However, OMCT is gravely concerned about yet another report of the Egyptian Police’s use of arbitrary arrests, detentions, alleged use of torture and resultant deaths in detention. OMCT fears that the perpetrators of these human rights violations will continue to enjoy impunity and that Mr. Hemdan’s family will not be granted adequate reparation.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Egypt urging them to:
· order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events and
· guarantee that those responsible are brought to trial and that the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions are applied as provided by law;
· guarantee adequate reparation to the family of Mr. Mostafa Labeeb Hemdan;
· 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, Email : Webmaster@presidency.gov.eg
· H.E. Faruq Sayf al-Nasr, Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, Midan Lazoghly, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: +202 795 8103, E-mail: mojeb@idsc.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, e-mail: moi@idsc.gov.eg.
Please also write to the embassies of Egypt in your respective country.
Geneva, July 29th, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.