4/3/2002
report
" Victims without rights "
The EOHR's report on torture in Police Stations
and Detention Centers in Egypt
SECTION 3
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION:
Since the issuance of its first report in 1990, in addition to the series of reports that follows, EOHR has submitted to the Egyptian authorities a number of significant recommendations, on the necessary measures to be taken, in order to safeguard that torture and ill-treatment of citizens inside police stations is called to an end. These recommendations still bear the same importance, especially as the authorities have not yet responded to and dealt with them in the positive way required. EOHR deems that the confrontation of torture in Egypt, with its aggravating impact, and its brooding scale of victims, cannot become a reality, unless the state institutions take a number of procedural and legislative steps. These would guarantee the full effectuation of all provisions of the International Conventions against Torture, and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
In light of this framework comes the following:
A- To ratify Articles 21 and 22 of the International Convention Against Torture, which would permit the UN Committee Against Torture to take up complaints brought to it by state parties to the Convention or individuals. If Egypt ratifies these two articles, this would only be evidence that the authorities have nothing to fear in the future, concerning their commitment to incriminating torture and ill treatment in prisons and other places of detention.
B- The amendment of article 126 of the penal Code in a way to go in line with the International Convention against torture and other cruel , inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment , ratified by Egypt , which defines torture to be any form of " servant pain or suffering , whether physical or mental". Thus, it does not necessarily have as its sole aim the coercion of confessions, as stipulated in the Egyptian Law.
- The issuance of a legislation that acknowledges the right of civil plaintiffs to litigate directly before the Criminal Court in crimes which involve an aggression on personal freedoms, or the sanitation of the citizens's privacy. It includes, inter alia, crimes provided for in article 126 of the penal code, which penalizes whoever subjects an accused person to torture, to force confessions out of him/her, in addition to articles 280 and 282 thereof, which penalize the act of wrongful, unlawful arrests.
- The abolish of Law no. 121 of 1956 appertaining to the amendment of article 63 of the Law n Criminal Procedures. This law confines the right to litigate in public lawsuits against civil servants (including police officers) and whoever is regarded as one, to public prosecution. Recourse should rather be taken to the old system which used to grant the inflicted the right of direct litigation.
- The issuance of a law that would provide for the adoption of the judicial police system, provided that it is affiliated to the Ministry of Justice. It shall be commissioned to conduct responsibilities of judicial seizure, and other tasks tat would assist in enforcing justice and implementing rulings.
- The inclusion, in the Law on Criminal Procedures, of the right of the accused to restore to a lawyer, when being interrogated in police stations.
5- The immediate investigation by the public prosecution in complaints it receives from individuals and organizations on the aggressions against those held in prisons and other places of detention.
- The implementation of an administrative investigation that goes in parallel with the investigations conducted by the public prosecution with police officers who commit legal violations against citizens in police stations , and to penalize and hold them accountable thereto.
- To create an independent and impartial body formed of judges, lawyers and doctors that would examine all allegations of torture in police custody, and to bring those responsible to justice. This body must be given access to all detention places and necessary information and be allowed to interview the victims. Its role should not be confined to the legal aspects, but should extend to the political, social and psychological implications of torture and put solutions to stop it.
- The setting of fixed and well-defined restrictions, standards and instructions to monitor the performance of police officers, especially investigation officers. These standards shall be separated from the extent to which they reach perpetrators of crimes they investigate. The reason behind this is that the linking between finding the perpetrators and keeping one's position as a police officer sometimes derives the latter group to encroach upon citizen's freedom.
- organizing training and educational sessions for police members, especially those in the criminal investigation departments, on the treatment of detainees in police stations. They must be trained to respect human dignity and the basic rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Egyptian Constitution, the law and international human rights treaties ratified by Egypt. These sessions would complement the human rights course already introduced in the police academy curriculum and all other police schools.
- The authorities should recognize and cooperate with human rights organizations by conducting prompt investigations into their appeals to the Ministry of Interior and the Public Prosecution. Also, they must provide these organizations with information on the cases and the results of their investigations, and enable the representatives of these organizations to visit prisons and other places of detention to monitor human rights conditions.
- To carry out the necessary amendments of the legislation which shall allow for the victims of torture to file his/her case directly to the judicial body against the defendant officer. Making the necessary amendments of the legislation which shall hold the head of the prison or the head of the detention center accountable for the acts of his men due to the provision of the penal code regarding the safety of the detainees . He must be also investigated for the crime of torture even if it is impossible to know the identity of the perpetrator.
In this respect , reference is due to the fact that the Commission on the Elimination of Torture has recommended in its annual report, which tackled the case of Egypt , the following:
The Commission on the Elimination of Torture has recommended the Egyptian government to enhance its legal and judicial structure , so as to effectively fight torture. An independent investigation "mechanism" has to be established , which shall involve judges , lawyers and physicians. These shall efficiently scrutinize all claims of torture, and refer the perpetrators to justice instantly. Moreover, such an independent group shall be in charge of monitoring the safeguards secured by the Egyptian Law against the torture of individuals that are denied their freedom. They shall also be permitted to enter all places of detention which are said to harbor acts of torture. The authorities in questions shall be informed immediately of their non-compliance with these safeguards. The Egyptian government shall conduct extensive and instant investigations in the various allegations pertinent to the cases of torture and to refer the perpetrators to justice. Clear-cut instructions should also be issued to prohibit any acts of torture in the future.
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