Egypt: Concerns over physical integrity of detainees

Case EGY 190398

The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your urgent
intervention in the following situation in Egypt.

Brief description of the situation:

The Egyptian Organisation of Human Rights (EOHR), a member of the OMCT
network, has expressed its grave concern for the physical and
psychological integrity of three detainees held in Damanhour General
Prison, in the town of Damanhour.

1	Abu El-Kasim Hassan Abdalla Talib, aged 20, was arrested on 1 March
1993. When visited by an EOHR lawyer, on 1 March 1998, Mr Talib was
carried into the room on a metal chair, he was unable to speak and his
head, eyes and ears were covered with a white scarf.

His family further reported that during a previous visit, on 22
February 1998, he was brought into the room on a stretcher, and during
the visit he was bleeding from the mouth.

2.	Sayid Mohammed Mohammed Saad, aged 26, was arrested on 9 May 1992
and suffers from a  serious heart complaint and chest allergy.

3.	Othman Seddeek Hassanein, aged 24, suffers from haemophilia and
needs regular blood transfusions, which are not provided by the prison
administration. He suffers from other medical complications.

The International Secretariat shares the fears of EOHR for the lives
of the above detainees and their urgent need for immediate and
appropriate medical care which they are currently being denied.

The denial of appropriate medical care contravenes national law:
article 36 of Law 396 of 1956 on Prisons states that any convict found
by the prison doctor to have contracted a disease that may endanger
his life or make him totally disable must be referred to the director
of the prisons medical department to be examined by him jointly with
the forensic doctor to consider his release.

It further contravenes international minimum rules: Rule 22/2 of the
United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners,
adopted by the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 1977
states: "Sick prisoners who require specialist treatment shall be
transferred to specialised institutions or to civil hospitals."

Prison conditions for detainees in Egypt are appalling and the
International Secretariat of OMCT has consistently called for
improvements in the conditions which put a great number of persons at
risk.

Action requested:

Please write to the authorities requesting that they:

i	take immediate measures to guarantee the physical and psychological
integrity of Abu El-Kasim Hassan Abdalla Talib, Sayid Mohammed
Mohammed Saad and  Othman Seddeek Hassanein ensuring that they receive
urgent medical care including examination by the prison doctor and  a
forensic doctor in conformity with national law, and should the
examination show that the need for specialised treatment ensure
immediate access to such facilities in conformity with national law;

ii	more generally take steps to improve the conditions of all
prisoners detained in Egyptian detention facilities in conformity with
international instruments including the United Nations Standard
Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners

iii.	ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms in accordance with national laws and
international standards.

Addresses:

His Excellency Mohammad Hosni Mubarak, President of the Arab Republic
of Egypt, ´Abedine Palace, Cairo, Egypt. Telex : 93794 WAZRA UN

His Excellency General Hassan al-Afly, Minister of the Interior,
Ministry of the Interior, Al-Sheikh Rihan Street, Bab al-Louk, Cairo,
Egypt. Telex : 21361 MOICM UN - Fax : + 202 355 7792

His Excellency Mr. Faruq Sayf Al-Nasr, Minister of Justice, Ministry
of Justice, Midan Lazoghly, Cairo, Egypt. Fax : + 202 355 8103


The Egyptian embassy in your respective countries

Geneva, 19 March 1998

Kindly inform us of any action taken quoting the exact number of this
appeal in your reply

The Human Rights Action Network, a part of Derechos Human Rights, distributes appeals on behalf of victims of human rights violations. You are invited to join the network. Please check the date of the present action and do not write if it's over a month old.