Egypt Activists Accuse Police of Torture
By NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD
Associated Press Writer
May 26, 2006
CAIRO, Egypt — Egyptian police allegedly tortured two protesters -- sexually assaulting one of them -- after a peaceful demonstration in support of pro-reform judges, a lawyer and an opposition group said Friday.
Activist Mohammed el-Sharkawi, 24, was sodomized "using a rolled up piece of cardboard for nearly 15 minutes," his lawyer Gamal Eid told The Associated Press.
"Almost all of el-Sharkawi's body is bruised, swollen, or cut," Eid said. "I haven't seen such brutality and sadism since 1995," he added, referring to a period when the state mounted a crackdown on Islamic militants.
The alleged assault occurred Thursday night after el-Sharkawi was taken to a Cairo police station, the lawyer said. The lawyer said El-Sharkawi told him about the incident when Eid was permitted to attend an interrogation session later that night.
Interior Ministry officials were not available for comment.
An Associated Press reporter on Thursday saw more than 15 men in plainclothes grab el-Sharkawi and punch and kick him after he participated in a peaceful protest outside of the Journalists' Syndicate in downtown Cairo.
The demonstrators were expressing solidarity with about 300 judges who were staging a sit-in outside the Supreme Court at the same time. The judges called for full independence of the judiciary in response to the hauling of two judges before a disciplinary panel for telling the media that their colleagues condoned fraud in last year's elections.
Throughout Thursday's protest, el-Sharkawi was silent as he held sign that said: "I want my rights back."
El-Sharkawi is a member of Youth for Change, affiliated with the political opposition movement Kifaya, which means Enough.
A Kifaya statement on its Web site alleged police tortured another protester, Kareem el-Sha'er.
"He was kidnapped from his car and then taken to the same police station where he was tortured," Eid said.
On Friday, state prosecutors ordered el-Sharkawi and el-Sha'er detained for 15 days, accusing them of insulting President Hosni Mubarak, incitement and illegal assembly.
Reporters Without Borders described el-Sharkawi and el-Sha'er as bloggers and condemned their arrest and alleged abuse. The Paris-based press freedom watchdog also said plainclothes police sprayed Los Angles Times reporter Hossam el-Hamalawy with tear gas as he covered the protest.
"The eyewitness accounts we have received about the arrests of the bloggers and the attack on the L.A. Times reporter are very disturbing," the group said in a statement.
El-Sharkawi and el-Sha'er were detained three days after they had been released from one month's incarceration for an earlier peaceful demonstration.
Kifaya says 60 of its activists arrested in April are still being held.
The United States recently criticized Egypt's handling of the pro-reform protests.
Associated Press Writer
May 26, 2006
CAIRO, Egypt — Egyptian police allegedly tortured two protesters -- sexually assaulting one of them -- after a peaceful demonstration in support of pro-reform judges, a lawyer and an opposition group said Friday.
Activist Mohammed el-Sharkawi, 24, was sodomized "using a rolled up piece of cardboard for nearly 15 minutes," his lawyer Gamal Eid told The Associated Press.
"Almost all of el-Sharkawi's body is bruised, swollen, or cut," Eid said. "I haven't seen such brutality and sadism since 1995," he added, referring to a period when the state mounted a crackdown on Islamic militants.
The alleged assault occurred Thursday night after el-Sharkawi was taken to a Cairo police station, the lawyer said. The lawyer said El-Sharkawi told him about the incident when Eid was permitted to attend an interrogation session later that night.
Interior Ministry officials were not available for comment.
An Associated Press reporter on Thursday saw more than 15 men in plainclothes grab el-Sharkawi and punch and kick him after he participated in a peaceful protest outside of the Journalists' Syndicate in downtown Cairo.
The demonstrators were expressing solidarity with about 300 judges who were staging a sit-in outside the Supreme Court at the same time. The judges called for full independence of the judiciary in response to the hauling of two judges before a disciplinary panel for telling the media that their colleagues condoned fraud in last year's elections.
Throughout Thursday's protest, el-Sharkawi was silent as he held sign that said: "I want my rights back."
El-Sharkawi is a member of Youth for Change, affiliated with the political opposition movement Kifaya, which means Enough.
A Kifaya statement on its Web site alleged police tortured another protester, Kareem el-Sha'er.
"He was kidnapped from his car and then taken to the same police station where he was tortured," Eid said.
On Friday, state prosecutors ordered el-Sharkawi and el-Sha'er detained for 15 days, accusing them of insulting President Hosni Mubarak, incitement and illegal assembly.
Reporters Without Borders described el-Sharkawi and el-Sha'er as bloggers and condemned their arrest and alleged abuse. The Paris-based press freedom watchdog also said plainclothes police sprayed Los Angles Times reporter Hossam el-Hamalawy with tear gas as he covered the protest.
"The eyewitness accounts we have received about the arrests of the bloggers and the attack on the L.A. Times reporter are very disturbing," the group said in a statement.
El-Sharkawi and el-Sha'er were detained three days after they had been released from one month's incarceration for an earlier peaceful demonstration.
Kifaya says 60 of its activists arrested in April are still being held.
The United States recently criticized Egypt's handling of the pro-reform protests.
posted by Hanan Elbadry at 11:31 AM
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