The ACIJLP Calls upon the concerned Egyptian authorities to take urgent measures Against torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in jails and lockups

11^th February 2014  

 

The ACIJLP Calls upon the concerned Egyptian authorities to take urgent measures

  Against torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in jails and lockups

 

The Arab Center for Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) expresses its grave concern over the abuse of the right to physical safety in Egypt , which represents a threat to the conditions of justice and human rights and a violation of the independence of the judiciary and guarantees of fair trial , and the Egyptian constitution in its articles (52 and 55 ). These violations also constitute a serious breach of Egypt international committments, particularly the International Covenant on civil and Political Rights , which was ratified by Egypt in January 14, 1982 , as well as the Convention against Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment ratified by Egypt in April 1986 and published in the Official Gazette on January 7, 1988 .

Perhaps what happened to many of the demonstrators, who were arrested in demonstrations witnessed during the 3^rd anniversary of the January revolution, from electric shock  in sensitive places and severe beatings in different parts of their bodies during the period of their detention suggests that no change has occured in the context of the treatment of the defendants by the police, and respect for the constitution is still absent.

The ACIJLP calls upon the Attorney General and the Ministry of the Interior to open an investigation regarding what happened to Khaled Al-Said and Naji Kamel and the rest of the defendants in the record number 1292 misdemeanor Al-Azbakia, of being forced to stand for long hours continuously with a torrent of insults and obscene curses in Al-Azbakia police station in addition to being held in inhuman places, as well as being subjected to electric shocks in sensitive places and severe beatings in different parts of their bodies during the period of detention in Abu Zaabal prison.

The ACIJLP calls upon the Attorney General to take action on complaints of torture haapened against the defendants or detainees or prisoners, and demonstrate zero tolerance on torture, and to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to a fair trial as soon as possible.

The ACIJLP believes that the concerned Egyptian authorities are requested according to Egypt's international committements to take the necessary legislative, judicial and administrative measures against torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

The ACIJLP stresses that legislative measures to reduce and prevent the crime of torture requires legislative amendments to the provisions of articles 126, 127, 128, 129 and 282 of the Egyptian Penal Code, as well as articles 63, 210 and 232 of the Code of Criminal Procedure require legislative intervention to amend these articles if there was a genuine desire to prevent the crime of torture to align with Egypt's international commitments and because what these articles are seriously deficient on combating torture.

The ACIJLP also emphasizes the need to take judicial and administrative measures beside the legislative measuresto combate the crime of torture occured mostly in prisons and lockups in Egypt.

 The ACIJLP calls upon the legislative and executive authorities and the Egyptian civil society institutions to take effective steps to reduce and prevent the crime of torture, including:

·        speeding up the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.

·        The need to harmonize all legislation with the concept of prevention of torture contained in the Convention against Torture.

·         The need for legislative intervention and the need to the attendance of lawyer with the accused at all stages of the criminal case, starting from the stage of arrest and detention and then investigation and trial stages.

·        Prevention of detention of persons in isolation from the the world and that the detention cenbters  should immediately provide accurate information on the reasons and places of the detainees to their relatives and lawyers.

·        put pressure to put prisons or detention centers run by various security agencies under the control of the judiciary and local and global human rights organizations, and until this happens, the public prosecutor must play active role on supervision and control of the prisons and lockups.

·         prohibition and criminalization of importing torture devices and prohibition of manufacturing these devices ​​, and the criminalization of their presence in prisons or detention centers.

·        Raising the awareness of the investigation concerned authorities about the fact that torture of the accused with the prevailing types of torture is non-human act, and that obtaining the confessions or important information should be done without resorting to torture, but according to psychological studies and this is what is prevalent in most developed countries .

·        the media (audio-visual and readable) should spreading awareness among the masses that torture is outrageous act and falls under crimes.

·        Establishing objective controls regarding the Criminal Procedure Code and not left these procedures to the discretion of the police.

·        Putting the places of detention and imprisonment under the supervision and subordination of the judiciary.

·        Amending the legislation requires the presence of a lawyer at all stages of the criminal case and the invalidity of any act done in the absence of a lawyer, since his arrest.

·        Amending  the Code of Criminal Procedure regarding determining the right to silence for the accused at all stages of the criminal case and the abolition of Article 29 of the Criminal procedures that give law enforcement officers the right to question the accused, as well as preventing them from doing any investigatiions.

·        Activating the articles of legal professions relevant to assaulting lawyers during and because of the performance of their profession, particularly Article 54 of the current Law of legal professions.

·        the law should ensure proper treatment of the lawyers, and the allocation of places to meet their clients, especially in the police stations and the headquarters of prosecutors and without the intervention of the men in power.

·        Toughening the penalty for the crime of torture, which lies on the from public servant on the accused, determining the right to compensation, amending the provision of Article 63 and the cancellation of the third paragraph which states that fortify the enforcement officers.

·        Applying the the system of investigating judge by activating the provisions of Part IV of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the public prosecutor should not collect between accusation and the Inquisition authorities.

·        Reducing the power of the public prosecutor regarding preventive detention and the principle of compensation for preventive detention in the case of innocence of the accused.

·         Return to the system of in - room charges in felonies.

·        Amendment to the Procedure Act, including the right of litigation on two degrees in felonies.

·        Determining the right to compensation for the errors of judges and self-responsibility of the state for such compensation.