The Committee for Justice has documented the death of 23-year-old Seif Imam inside his detention at Ain Shams Police Station in Cairo as a result of torture, just days after he was arrested on accusations of stealing a mobile phone.
According to the victim’s family, Seif was subjected to enforced disappearance for three days without explanation before being brought before the prosecution, which discovered that what the officer considered evidence was nothing more than his personal phone.
The family confirmed that they received a call from the police station informing them of their son’s death. When they went to collect his body, they were shocked to find horrific signs of torture on several parts of his body, including skull fractures, nasal disfigurement, and bruises and wounds covering his entire body.
Seif’s uncle stated that he had been severely beaten and tortured by six police officers and personnel inside the station while his hands were tied, until he took his last breath.
CFJ stresses the urgent need to activate an independent and transparent monitoring mechanism for detention sites in Egypt, to protect the lives of detainees and ensure such crimes are not repeated. It also urgently calls for the issuance of a comprehensive anti-torture law, in line with the UN Convention against Torture, which Egypt has ratified, and that explicitly criminalizes torture as a crime that does not lapse with time.
CFJ demands an independent and prompt investigation into the circumstances of Seif Imam’s death and accountability for those responsible, while also urging the Egyptian authorities to improve detention conditions in their facilities.
With this, the number of deaths documented by CFJ since the beginning of 2025 inside prisons and detention centers in Egypt has risen to 40 cases, following 50 deaths documented during 2024.
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.