Egypt: New president should commit to end torture
Egypt's new president, due to be elected on 7 September, must take decisive action to end torture and other human rights
violations and make a vital break with the past, Amnesty International said today.
"Torture remains widespread and systematic, and security forces have been allowed over many years to act with virtual
impunity," said Malcolm Smart, Director of Middle East and North Africa programme. “The new president should force
through long-needed human rights reforms.”
Torture is used against people from all walks of life, including political prisoners and people arrested in connection
with alleged "terrorism" cases. Methods routinely used by security forces include beating, suspension by the wrists and
ankles and electric shocks in sensitive parts of the body. Detainees are frequently kept naked and blindfolded while
being interrogated and tortured.
No thorough, prompt and impartial investigations have been conducted into the hundreds of complaints of torture and
deaths in detention that have been filed in recent years. The impunity afforded to those responsible for torture and
ill-treatment ultimately encourages such abuses.
“Seeking an end to the systematic use of torture and breaking the spiral of impunity behind which the torturers have
been able to hide should be a priority for the new president,” said Malcolm Smart.
Amnesty International welcomes the recent establishment of a National Council for Human Rights and a parliamentary
Committee for Human Rights. These bodies should play a greater role in promoting respect for human rights in Egypt.
The state of emergency, which has been in force since 1981, has largely contributed to restrictions of rights and
freedoms in Egypt. The Emergency Law gives wide executive powers to curtail freedom of expression, association and
assembly and anyone considered “a threat to national security and public order” can be detained indefinitely without
charge or trial.
Thousands of administrative detainees continue to be held under emergency legislation without charge or trial sometimes
for years. Most of them are held in appalling conditions; a number of detainees have died in custody as a result of the
denial of adequate medical care.
“Emergency regulations facilitate torture and other human rights violations that can never be permissible under
international law. The new president must repeal these regulations or bring them into line with internationally accepted
standards,” said Malcolm Smart.