• EGYPT
  • November 29, 2015
  • 3 minutes read

Human Rights Report Documents Torture, Violations in Prisons Against Egypt Students

Human Rights Report Documents Torture, Violations in Prisons Against Egypt Students

Student rights group Freedom Seekers Monitor (FSM) published a report that reveals systematic abuse and torture in prisons and detention centers against Egyptian students, in the period from July 3, 2013 until November 1, 2015.


In its report, FSM said officers and other personnel in all "state security" apparatus, security directorates and Central Security facilities, in all governorates across Egypt practiced all forms of psychological and physical torture as well as various forms of humiliating treatment and abuse, against all those who happen to get detained at those facilities, even as mere suspects.


Police stations and other places of detention in all parts of the country are not any better, where ‘suspects’ are regularly tortured (often to death), with electric shocks, suspension by two limbs and even violent rape, to extract confessions under duress, or simply to punish and humiliate political opponents.


FSM also pointed that most violations were: detention in places and conditions that flout relevant laws, deliberate medical negligence, intransigence with sick students – preventing them from getting essential treatment and medicines, as well as the most serious violation against students in detention with physical torture.


FSM documented many cases of students from various Egyptian universities who were subjected to systematic physical torture in detention, ranging from severe beatings with sharp objects, being left in painful positions for long periods, electrical shocks to the genitals and sensitive parts of the body, and even sexual assault, violent rape of students by security officers and other workers at detention centers, which led to serious psychological problems and severe physical injuries that sometimes led to death.


FSM also presented a number of reports from Egypt’s Forensic Medicine Department and testimonies from families of students who were tortured to death, in addition to statements from students who themselves had been tortured after being arrested. All these clearly highlight an unprecedented deterioration in the human rights situation in Egypt, according to FSM.


FSM is a human rights organization concerned with monitoring and documenting violations against Egyptian students of institutes and universities, irrespective of background or political affiliation. This report is part of a series of reports the organization began to publish on November 17, 2014 – on the International Student Day.