The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights
PRESS
RELEASE
An appeal to the President of the Republic
Those Responsible for the Events of Al-Kosheh Must Pay the Price |
Cairo, 9 November 1998
On 14 August 1998, a murder took place in Al-Kosheh village, Suhag. The following day, security forces from the governorate arrested hundreds of men, women, elderly, and children suspected to have connections with the crime. They were subjected to the most heineous and predominant methods of torture used by the police in Egypt, such as being suspended for long hours in the air, being tied up in difficult positions similar to that of a slaughtered animal to increase the pain, jumping brutally on the bodies lying on the floor causing some of them to empty their bowels involuntarily, beating with hands, feet and other means, and administering electric shocks in different parts of the body, including the genitals. The last mentioned form of torture was applied even to boys and girls, sometimes in front of their brothers and sisters. [The details, documented with names and ages of the victims and the names of a number of the officers who committed these brutal crimes, are included in EOHR's report entitled "Collective punishment in Al-Kosheh village - Random arrest, torture and degrading treatment of citizens", issued on 28 September 1998.] Following the crime, the Public Prosecution made investigations into the events and into the instances of torture. It examined the signs of torture and confirmed some of them in its reports. This means that information about the barbaric crimes committed against Egyptian men, women and children was available to the Public Prosecutor and the Ministry of the Interior for a long time. After twelve weeks, the Interior Minister considered it sufficient to transfer a number of police officers from Suhag in order not to influence the investigations. During all this period of shameful silence, Egypt was the focus of the foreign media. Some of them exaggerated the events to turn the threats of rape or sexual harassment into actual rape, and the hanging into crucification. Given that the majority of residents of Al-Kosheh village, and the majority of those arrested and tortured, are Christians, the events were reported in the context of accusing the authorities of practicing religious persecution against Christians in Egypt. Such situation would have been avoided if the officials of the Public Prosecution and the Ministry of the Interior had carried out their duty by taking the appropriate legal steps at the right time, and if the local media had fulfilled its minimum professional and national responsibility towards the dignity of its people. The very issuance of the mentioned EOHR report should have been enough to refute the allegations on religious persecution, unless the ultimate aim of the above mentioned officials is to cover up the crimes committed by police officers whatever the price might be, even if it was at the cost of the dignity of the Egyptian people and the country's reputation. The EOHR warned in its above mentioned report that "the failure of the competent authorities to hold accountable those members of the security forces responsible for the grave violations of the rights of hundreds of citizens in Al-Kosheh village may open the door for the wide misuse of the events and their depiction as a form of persecution and discrimination against Coptic citizens." However, nobody listened to the warning. In fact, what urged the signing human rights organizations to issue this appeal was not what was disseminated by some foreign press, but rather their astonishment at seeing the strong nervous shock suffered by the State's bodies of an old country like Egypt merely for the publication of an article or more in a foreign newspaper. In the meantime, these bodies were not moved by the actual barbarous crimes committed against their people in the mentioned village. Instead of proceeding to take the legal measures provided by the Constitution, the law and human rights standards and hold accountable those who procrastinated in taking such actions, they put all their efforts in organizing media campaigns inside and outside Egypt to face a fabricated danger that would supposedly harm the 'nation', as if Egypt or 'the nation' was an abstract identity that could have meaning without its citizens, or perhaps at the expense of the dignity and the physical safety of its citizens. Unless torture is an adopted policy and a recognized method during interrogations, the Minister of Interior is required to explain to the public opinion why he did not investigate the officers responsible for the events of Al-Kosheh in spite of the elapse of three months since the occurrence of the crimes. The public opinion, which was surprised by some of the decisions taken by the Public Prosecutor in the last month, has the right to receive an explanation about the stance of the Public Prosecution in these crimes, and to know if they will be disregarded like hundreds of previous incidents of torture, a negligence that led the international community to put Egypt as an example of a country where torture is 'a crime without punishment.' With this appeal, the signatories aim to call upon the President of the Republic, as the head of the executive, to set up a committee to refer those responsible for the events of Al-Kosheh village to the judiciary, and to hold accountable the senior officials who were accomplices in the crimes. In addition, those responsible must apologize to the people of the village for the collective punishment and torture to which they were subjected, and compensation must be given to them for the material, physical and psychological damage suffered. Finally, they should apologize to the Egyptian public opinion for the harm inflicted to the Egyptian people and to the country's reputation. Also, the signatories appeal to the People's Assembly to form a fact-finding committee to investigate the incidents of torture included in the reports issued by Egyptian human rights organizations in the past years, and to take the proper measures in the light of the results of the committee to put an end to the practice of torture in police stations and places of detention. In this regard, the signing organizations appeal to the Assembly to review article 63, paragraph three, of the Code of Criminal Procedure in order to enable victims of torture to bring direct lawsuits against officers accused of torture and ill-treatment. This year, civilized countries compete to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to present themselves to the whole world in the best image possible. These celebrations will see their peak on 10 December 1998. By disregarding the dignity of their people, the officials of the State's bodies have contributed to present Egypt in the worse image possible. The celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an important occasion to renew Egypt's commitment to respect human rights and to prove that the dignity of its people is a priority. It is also an opportunity to reach a national accord based on actual respect of human rights principles. Signing organizations: Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) Group for Democratic Development (GDD) Center for Human Rights Legal Aid (CHRLA) Human Rights Center for the Assistance of Prisoners (HRCAP) Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) Arab Program for Human Rights Activists (APA)
