Kareem’s lawyers recently received a letter of complaint from Kareem who states that he is being physically tortured in prison. Details are exposed in a press release issued by the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information today:

Cairo, November 12, 2007

The Arabic Network for Human Rights information and Hisham Mubarak Centre for Law sent a communiqué to the Egyptian Prosecutor-General, demanding to investigate into the issue of torturing Karim Amer in his prison. Karim who is an Egyptian blogger sentenced to prison for 4 years for ‘vilifying religions’ and defaming the president was tortured [and this abuse] was ordered and supervised by an investigation officer in Borg Alarab prison. Karim was also ordered into a solitary cell where he was assaulted again and had one of his teeth broken; this assault’s date came to mark one year since Karim was sent to jail.

Karim reported his being tortured in prison to his lawyers in the Arabic Network and Hisham Mubarak Center, the torture came at the hand of another prisoner and a prison guard, ordered by Midhat Samir one of the prison’s investigations officers. This came to pass after Karim has uncovered some corruption act in the prison. Karim was punished and tortured severely which resulted in several injuries in addition to a broken tooth. He was deprived from officially reporting the incident against the accused officer as well as denying him the right to document these injuries in a medical report. The Arabic Network for Human Rights information and Hisham Mubarak Centre for Law mentioned in their communiqué to the Prosecutor-General that the assault on Karim is manifested in the following:

* Being beaten inside ward Number 22 where he is imprisoned at the time of the assault, the battery was launched by another prisoner and a prison guard, in the presence of Officer Midhat Samir and under his supervision. Samir also gave the green light for the assault which resulted in a broken tooth “upper right canine tooth” along with a number of bruises and abrasions on various parts of the body.
* Transferring Karim to a disciplinary cell where he was handcuffed and had his feet strapped into shackles; he was beaten up again which caused him more injuries.
* Another inmate prisoner was brought over where they stripped him out of clothes and beat him severely in front of prisoner Kareem Soliman as they also threatened to inflict upon him the same punishment, if he didn’t mind his own business.

Both of the legal firms” the Arabic Network and Hisham Mubarak Centre for Law” called for an immediate investigation into Karim Amer’s complaint as according to articles 126,127 and 129 of the criminal code, it fits into the specifications of a torture crime in addition to that, those allegations had they been true, they would represent an infringement to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and also to the UN anti-torture treaty and other treaties on maltreatment, harsh punishment, non- humanitarian or degradeful treatment which Egypt signed on and ratiefied.

It is to mention that Karim since he was imprisoned is subjected to a systemic discriminatory practice and maltreatment in Borg Alarb prison on the hands of the prison’s officers. He mentioned to his lawyer that the maltreatment was always coupled with this phrase “This is until you do change your mind”!! This represents a threat to his life and compounds the difficulty of the already harsh sentence. The two legal firms are calling for transferring him into another prison where he might receive a better humanitarian treatment and where his rights as a prisoner might be respected.

The Arabic Network for Human Rights information
Hisham Mubarak Centre for Law

The “No Torture in Egypt” campaign have also written about the incident here.

Local newspapers will be writing about this tomorrow, including the Daily Star Egypt. We will republish any of such articles here.

Please spread the word!