Anti-Coup Alliance Denounces Detention, Torture of Leaders, Females, Minors, Opponents

The Anti-Coup, Pro-Legitimacy Alliance strongly condemns the torture and cruel and inhuman treatment political prisoners suffer at the hands of security and armed forces during their arrest and in places of detention.

Detainees in all prisons of Egypt have suffered physical torture, including electrocution, being punched and kicked on different parts of the body and beaten with a thick baton, to being stripped off their clothes and deprived of receiving food, except for just one meal per day.

Dr. Murad Ali, Freedom & Justice Party (FJP) media advisor, who is also a medical doctor, was arrested upon arrival at Cairo International Airport, on August 21, despite not being listed on travel bans or having any arrest warrant issued against him.

According to his family, Dr. Murad Ali has been prevented from receiving medications, nor any water to drink for two consecutive days, despite authorities knowing his critical health situation. His eyesight has severely deteriorated as he has been placed in a solitary confinement cell with a deliberately weak light bulb, no ventilation or access to sunlight since the beginning of his arrest.

Moreover, Dr. Ali was mistreated in a very inhumane manner, and his family was unable to visit him for a very long time, until September 2.

Muslim Brotherhood (MB) Chairman Dr. Mohamed Badie, MB Spokesman Ahmed Aref, Upper House (Shura Council) member Dr. Mohamed Beltagy, MB leading member Khairat Al-Shater and many other MB leaders and thousands of the group’s members and supporters of constitutional legitimacy have been detained, tortured and terribly ill-treated.

The illegal detention of these supporters of democracy, in solitary confinement and with criminals in the same cells, continues to take place in violation of Egyptian and International laws.

More arbitrary arrests and detention of MB leaders and members as well as anti-coup protesters continue unabated, to-date. Brutal mistreatment and torture also continue till this very day. Political detainees have been attacked by criminal prisoners with bladed weapons and heavy sticks. Prison personnel have also attacked peaceful detainees with tear gas bombs in the confinement of their cells in Tora Prison and the Appeal Prison.

Lethal weapons were used to kill detainees from Nasser City Police Stations I and II while being deported to Abu-Zaabal Prison – and in fact did murder at least 38 detainees inside prison vans.

Some political figures announced that the real number of political prisoners killed at the hands of prison and detainee-transport authorities was 218.

The corpses of those victims showed marks of torture and burning – some were completely burnt – and families found difficulty in recognizing the corpses, which indicates that they were tortured and burnt to death.

In a new violation unprecedented in the history of Egyptian security forces, women (at least 250) were arrested and detained in prisons and military camps, including girls who were 14 years old and other minors – in complete violation of Egyptian and international law.

Women who were imprisoned stated that they were mistreated badly in prison and humiliated as well as being beaten, punched and kicked on different parts of their bodies, which sometimes caused severe bleeding, just for expressing their opinions.

The continued violations by the army and security forces are causing a state of chaos and insecurity in the country. The Alliance reminds coup authorities of their obligations under international conventions they ratified and therefore need to commit to and respect.

Finally, the Alliance calls on Egyptian authorities to immediately release all political prisoners who were put in prisons for expressing their views, as well as providing them with adequate reparation.