News briefing
By: CFJ
Geneva: June 21, 2023
The Committee for Justice’s monitoring team has reported a new death case of a detainee inside a detention center in Egypt . The deceased political prisoner Saleh Abd al-Sattar Saad Rahim (41 years old), a resident of the Al-Firdous village of the Adwa district in Minya governorate, and a father of four children, the eldest of whom is 13 years old. He died as a result of torture inside the Adwa Police Station in Minya Governorate, southern Egypt. Rahim worked as a guard of
agricultural lands. He was arrested – accompanied by his nephew, Salah – on the 8th of June, by a security force consisting of seven members in civilian clothes, and led by an investigation officer called Mohammed Al-Jabali.
CFJ quoted eyewitnesses to the incident of the arrest of Rahim stating that he was subjected to physical assault and verbal abuse by the security forces in front of the villagers before he and his nephew were taken to the Adwa police station, where he was brutally beaten, and his screams were heard from outside the detention for 30 minutes, before he died from torture and was transferred to the Adwa General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
CFJ indicated that Rahim’s family received a call from the police station stating that he had died and that they needed to come to the hospital to receive his body. The burial procedures were then completed as his body was buried in the family graves in Gharyani.
The family of Rahim confirmed the presence of blue torture marks on his body, specifically on the abdomen and neck, as well as bruises. Forensic samples were taken, but an official report on the cause of death has not been issued yet. However, a detective officer at the police station claimed that the death was natural inside the station’s detention facility, contrary to the clear provisions of the law and preempting the outcome of the forensic report.
Condemning and demanding accountability for those responsible:
CFJ condemns the violations that occurred against the Egyptian citizen, Saleh Rahim, for contravening the international Convention against Torture, which Egypt has signed, as well as Article 55 of the Egyptian Constitution, which states: ” Anyone who is arrested, detained, or has their freedom restricted must be treated in a manner that preserves their dignity. They shall not be subjected to torture, intimidation, coercion, physical or psychological harm. Their detention or imprisonment shall only take place in appropriate facilities that meet humane and hygiene standards.”
CFJ called on the Egyptian authorities to stop the policy of impunity, which exacerbated the phenomenon of torture inside detention facilities in Egypt, and to hold accountable those responsible for this incident, headed by the investigation officer of the Adwa police station in Minya, Mohammed Al-Jabali, and all those involved in the crime.
16th death in 2023:
With Rahim’s death, the number of deaths in custody in Egypt, as documented by CFJ, since the beginning of 2023, has risen to 16 cases, the latest of which was the case of Mustafa Helwa (43 years old), who fell down from high stairs, Wadi Al Natroun prison, hit his head and died as soon as he arrived at the intensive care unit at the University Hospital in Alexandria on June 12.
Accurate information about death cases during detention in Egypt can be obtained through the Justice Watch Archive service provided by CFJ, which contains information about more than 14,000 victims and over 30,000 violations. It also monitors violations inside more than 500 places of detention in Egypt.
