News briefing
By: Committee for Justice
Geneva: November 6, 2023
The Committee for Justice has documented an extrajudicial killing of a Jordanian citizen of Egyptian origin, named Amir Adel Al-Qadi (19 years old), who was arrested from his home. He was subsequently detained at the El-Zohour Police Station in Port Said, located in Northern Egypt along the Mediterranean coast.
Arrest and Torture:
According to the deceased’s family, Major Hassan El-Khouly of El-Zohour Police Station in Port Said, along with accompanying forces, arrested the victim on the afternoon of September 25, 2023. This date contradicts the official arrest record, which states the arrest occurred on September 26. They arrested him from his home in Khaled Ibn Al-Walid housing, El-Zohour district. The family’s complaints to the relevant authorities and the Governor of Port Said, Major General Adel El-Ghadban, confirm this. The forces also assaulted the victim’s mother and took him along with his younger brother, Amr (16 years old).
Eyewitnesses (criminal detainees) confirmed that Major El-Khouly took the victim and his brother to El-Zohour Police Station, where Amir was subjected to severe torture over a full day to force confessions regarding the theft of a handbag containing gold jewelry and money from a woman’s car.
The Egyptian Interior Ministry’s Narrative:
Witnesses added that on the following day, September 26, Major El-Khouly, with the victim handcuffed and showing visible signs of torture and exhaustion, took him in a police car to a cemetery for inspection and to identify the stolen items. According to the Egyptian Interior Ministry’s statement on the incident, the victim picked up a sharp object from the ground, attempted to assault the forces, and injured himself. As a result, he was transported to the hospital for treatment but ultimately died there.
Questions About the Ministry’s Narrative and Calls for Investigation:
CFJ highlighted that the only narrative of the events inside the cemetery comes from the Egyptian Interior Ministry, which raises doubts about the feasibility of a severely tortured and handcuffed individual resisting an entire security force. There are also questions about the pressures the victim faced, leading to the supposed suicide as per the ministry’s narrative. Due to the unrealistic nature of the Interior Ministry’s statement, CFJ demands a prompt, impartial, and transparent investigation into the death, publication of the investigation results, and explanation if no investigation is initiated. It also calls for accountability for those responsible for the victim’s mistreatment before his death.
Additionally, CFJ urges the Egyptian authorities to end the policy of impunity that has led to the worsening of torture incidents in Egyptian detention facilities. It calls for holding accountable those responsible for this incident, especially Major Hassan El-Khouly of El-Zohour Police Station in Port Said, and everyone involved in this crime.