Egypt: Detainees allege torture at hands of military (Amnesty International urges army to stop)

[Turborama]

Source: Amnesty International

Posted: 17 February 2011

‘When we got out of the vehicle our blindfolds were taken off and soldiers started beating us with whips and truncheons’ - 18-year-old student

Amnesty International is urging the Egyptian military to take urgent action to stop the torture and ill-treatment of detainees amid fresh evidence of abuse.

The call comes as former detainees told Amnesty that they were tortured, including by whipping and with electric shocks, after being detained by members of the military in the last days before Hosni Mubarak stood down as president.

Recently-released detainees told Amnesty researchers in Egypt that members of the armed forces used beatings, whippings and other forms of torture and ill-treatment to intimidate protestors and to obtain information about plans for the protests.

One former detainee, a 29-year-old decorator from Gharbiya Province north of Cairo, told Amnesty he was tortured by soldiers on 3 February in an annexe to the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities:

Read more: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=19258

[seafan]

1. Reports of this in the Guardian as well.

Egypt's army 'involved in detentions and torture', February 9, 2011


Egypt: Detainees allege torture at hands of military, February 17, 2011


The current military leadership are all Mubarak lackeys. For the Egyptian people's fight for control over their own government to be successful, they will have to throw out the entire apparatus that still clings to power over them.

[EFerrari]

2. Last week, NYTs reporters who were detained

reported hearing beatings and screaming. Some other news crew, sorry can't remember which one now, reported seeing people tortured with electricity right in the same cell they were being held in.

[Turborama]

3. Pertinent kick, in light of this..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4749393">Getting tougher, Egyptian troops beat protesters

:kick: