Incommunicado detention of Mr. Ikrami Saad Hajjaj_Fear for his safety

Torture and ill-treatment/ Arbitrary and incommunicado detention/ Fear for safety/ Risk of impunity

The International Secretariat of the World Organization Against Torture (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 Land Center for Human Rights (LCHR), an organisation member of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, of the incommunicado detention and the torture and other forms of ill-treatment of Mr. Ikrami Saad Hajjaj, resident of Burj Mughayzil village, in Motobas district, Kafr el-Sheikh governorate, by police forces.

According to the information received, Mr. Ikrami Saad Hajjaj was first arrested on 26 February 2008 by police officers of Motobas police station and was presented before the prosecutor after being accused of facilitating illegal migration of youth, which Mr. Ikrami Saad Hajjaj denied.

The prosecutor of Kafr el Sheikh reportedly released him on the same day because of lack of evidence, but police officers of Motobas Investigation Center rearrested and detained him in Burj Al Arab prison. The police then later allegedly tried to force Mr. Ikrami Saad Hajjaj to work for them as an informer, which he refused. While LCHR has made several requests to have him released, he has since then remained detained and has allegedly been subjected to repeated ill-treatment.

According to the same information, when Mr. Ikrami Saad Hajjaj’s wife threatened, on 11 March 2009, to file a complaint with regard to his situation, Mr. Ikrami Saad Hajjaj was taken to Kafr el-Sheikh Deportation Department[1], where Major Sherief and Colonel Samir reportedly tortured and ill-treated him. He was allegedly tied up to the ground and beaten mostly in the face, as well as kicked and beaten with sticks all over his naked body for two days. Mr. Ikrami Saad Hajjaj reportedly requested to be brought to a hospital due to his injuries but to no avail. Instead, Motobas police station issued a new detention order on the basis of the emergency law on 16 March 2009 and Mr. Ikrami Saad Hajjaj was again transferred to prison Burj Al Arab on 17 March 2009. He has since then not been examined by a doctor.

The LCHR again filed a grievance following which a release order was issued, on 26 May 2009, by the emergency court. Mr. Ikrami Saad Hajjaj was brought back to the Motobas police station, but, instead of being released, he was detained and has since then remained with no access to his family and lawyer. OMCT fears that he may be at risk of further torture or other forms of ill-treatment.

Mr. Ikrami Saad Hajjaj submitted a complaint to the General Prosecutor (n° 6554) on 6 April 2009 with regard to the acts of torture and other ill-treatment suffered but according to the information received, no investigation has yet been launched into these allegations.

OMCT is gravely concerned about these allegations and urges the competent authorities to carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation therein, the result of which must be made public, in order to bring those responsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law. OMCT also calls on the authorities to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Ikrami Saad Hajjaj in accordance with international human rights law, in particular the provisions of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. Furthermore, Mr. Ikrami Saad Hajjaj should be immediately released in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, and if such charges exist, to ensure that he is given a prompt and fair trial, in which his procedural rights are guaranteed at all times.

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Egypt urging them to

1. Take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Ikrami Saad Hajjaj;
2. Guarantee Mr. Ikrami Saad Hajjaj immediate access to adequate medical care, as well as immediate and unconditional access to his lawyer and his family;
3. Order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, and if such charges exist, to ensure that he is given a prompt and fair trial, in which his procedural rights are guaranteed at all times;
4. Call upon the competent authorities to carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the allegations of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, the result of which must be made public, in order to bring those responsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
5. Guarantee that no evidence obtained under force be used in court cases;
6. Ensure that adequate, effective and prompt reparation, including adequate compensation, proper medical care and rehabilitation, is granted to the victim;
7. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards.

Addresses

• President of the Republic, Muhammad Hosni Mubarak, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Fax: +202 390 1998, E-mail: webmaster@presidency.gov.eg;
• Egyptian Public Prosecutor, Counsellor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud Abdel Meguid, Dar al Qadha al-'Ali, Ramses Street, Cairo, Egypt, Via facsimile: + 20 2 2577 4716;
• Minster of Interior, Minister Habib Ibrahim El Adly, Ministry of the Interior, 25 Al-Sheikh Rihan Street, Bab al-Louk, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: +20 22 796 0682 Email: center@iscmi.gov.eg or moi@idsc.gov.eg;
• Egyptian Minister of Health, Dr. Hatem Mostafa El-Gabaly, Address : 3 Magless El Shaab st., Fax: + 202 27953966;
• Chair of Egyptian Medical Syndicate, Prof. Hamdi el Sayed, Fax: + 20 22 795 9311; Email: ems_cai@ems.org.eg;
• National Council for Human Rights, Ambassador Mokhless Kotb, Secretary General
• National Council for Human Rights, 1113 Corniche El Nil, Midane Al Tahrir
• Specialized National Councils Building – 11th floor, NDP Building, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: +2022 574 7497, Email: nchr@nchr.org.eg.

Please also write to the embassies of Egypt in your respective country.

Geneva, 8 June 2009

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
[1] A center where detainees are collected before being transferred either to police station or prison.