Morsi: Interior Minister Is Responsible For

 

–      Police violations threaten the country”s peace and stability.

–      There are loyal policemen; however violators are not brought to justice.

–      I call upon honest Egyptian writers to adopt the issue and disclose torture cases.

Recently, Egypt witnesses a mushrooming phenomenon of police violations against the people; Hamada Abdullatif is today”s case study indicating torture at the hands of the police officers.

Abdullatif was going peacefully along with his daughters to the school full of hope and aspiring promising future. Surprisingly, the police seemed not to be at ease with the simple citizen; he was severely assaulted against and arrested without any prior legal reason for such treatment. Such practices are entirely against constitution and laws.

Further, torture stroke him with quadriplegia and lacerated his thoracic cavity at the hands of the commissioner of Menia Al-Bassal”s police station and his fellow officers. They fabricated a charge against Abdullatif claiming that he demonstrated amid streets and neglected traffic regulations. Letting alone such fabricated and oppressive charges, the citizen seems to be passing away for violating traffic law!

Two weeks later, Belal Abdurrahman (broadcaster at Al-Nas TV channel) suffered from a similar violation for just asking the officer who came to arrest him while performing his job with Professor Abdurrahman Abdul-Bar about persecution arrest warrant. The officer hit him till tearing his thorax and affecting his heart.

Such two cases were on top of human rights arena last two weeks preceded by several reports of rights violations inside police stations leading to many death cases; such as Musaad Qutub, Akram El-Zuheiri, Tareq El-Ghannam, child of Shuha village, martyr of Telbana, and other scores during the recent parliamentary elections.

So, what happens? Have policemen gone nuts to assault the people whom they should defend?! Can we believe that they are just individual errors not systematic policy pursued by the Ministry? If so, why don”t we hear of bringing such individuals to justice to be punished for their atrocities? What”s the future of the relation between the Egyptian people and their security forces within the soaring public discontent in the streets? Dr. Mohamed Morsi, member of the Muslim Brotherhood Executive Bureau, answers all related question in the following interview:

Ikhwanweb: Firstly, how do you see what happened with Abdullatif?

Morsi: It is really a dangerous escalation of the security policies; since we got used to hearing no more than battery, insults, electric shocking, and harassments, but now it came to systematic murder policy adopted against the people. Abdullatif is not the sole case of such unjustifiable revenge; Musaad Qutub was murdered due to the absence of medical treatment after severe torture at Giza state security premises, Akram El-Zuheiri also passed away due to negligence inside evacuation vehicle, Tareq El-Ghannam died of suffocation and battery after besieging him inside the mosque, Nasser Ahmad Abdullah El-Saeidi (known as Telbana”s martyr) died of battery and trailing along the ground when he interfered to rescue his she-nephew from the violation of the policemen who swooped down on the girl, but they killed him before neighbors and family, and many other cases that indicate the heinous atrocities against the armless people.

Ikhwanweb: Do you mean that Abdullatif”s is only a case of long cluster?

Morsi: Abdullatif”s is different since he was not a detainee or incriminated; he only drove his daughters to school and joined other families who stood before the security cordon that banned their children from joining the school. The police forces began beating the families using all available means and arresting whoever they could capture including Abdullatif who suffered from the commissioner- led torture. The commissioner beat till fracture his backbone with shoes and went on beating him with his men till such a miserable status he suffers now. Security seems to have a message to the people that policemen would go on violations without punishment.

Ikhwanweb: You said the Interior Ministry pursues a new policy against the people; do you see Abdullatif”s sufferings coming out of his political orientation?

Morsi: Political orientation should not affect the way the people should be treated, especially Abdullatif is known as committing to his work at the oil sector, as reported by the media. What happened reflects the chaotic policies adopted by the Interior that require strict reactions because we are indeed equal citizens of the same rights and duties. There should be a respect of the humans regardless of their political affiliations. I think that the fast- growing torture must be resisted since it will go on, unless faced, increasing the people”s suffering. I feel worried over certain reactions of the people; one may be intimidated and die peacefully without resisting torture but others may resist and turn the police stations in to battle fields between the oppressed people and the police forces.

Ikhwanweb: You say “some policemen”, do you agree with the Interior Minister that such practices are “individual mistakes”?

Morsi: Surely, there are many loyal policemen who love their country; however what happened cannot be considered individual cases because they are not only few ones but they are repeated and growing everyday without any punishment. More recently is Abdullatif”s case; the officer is still free without trial or condemnation by any official statement that should at least be released by the Interior Minister. Those referred to investigations were only those failing to camouflage their crimes. It means that they got trialed for being disclosed rather than for torture crime itself. Therefore, I call for the bringing the officer to justice for his crime against Abdullatif and also call on the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) and all concerned authorities to curb and withstand such mushrooming human right violations and disclose the fate of all involved in torture crimes to be warning lessons for others, otherwise all should be incriminated and hold responsible for the crime.

Ikhwanweb: As a former Brotherhood MP; Brotherhood has got 86 MPs in current parliament; why don”t you withstand torture through new legislations?

Morsi: Muslim Brotherhood parliamentarians exerted their utmost efforts during last and current parliaments to face torture via queries, bills, urgent statements, and so on. It is the first time in our history to have parliamentarian committees visiting prisons to be well- acknowledged on the status quo of the prisons.

Ikhwanweb: Some say the Brotherhood MPs move in favor of their members” cases only; how do you see that?

Morsi: This is not correct; we contain all cases in our treatment process inside the PA regardless of the affiliations or religions of the victims; martyr of Al-Umraniya is non-Muslim! We are keen on discussing the problems of all Egyptians without regard for trends or affiliations. Confirming my words is the bill filed by MB MP Hussein Mohamed Ibrahim for more than four parliamentary terms calling for making harsher the punishments of torture crimes; however such bills got used to be impeded. Such bills, of course, tackle the issues of interest for all the people; MBs, other trends, or even non-Muslims.

Ikhwanweb: What do you mean by “such violations have passive impacts of the Egyptian social stability”?

Morsi: Unfortunately, security forces have other interests than making the regime and its tycoons secure; this threatens the social peace and stability on the streets and squares. There have been no general ethics or morals; especially with the on-going harassments against females on the biggest streets and squares concurring with any social occasion. This is quite evidence on the absence of police”s mission. Till now and under this misguided regime, we still hear about robbers and cutpurses as well as bandits. Police should focus on protecting the people against such crimes. They should control the markets to restrict monopoly and playing with the people”s livings. The police failed even to restrict the kidnapping of tourists and Egyptians inside our borders. The Interior Ministry abandoned its key role and became a tool against the people in favor of the regime.

Ikhwanweb: How do you see the solution of this crisis and means of curbing it?

Morsi: There should be a fair public trial against those violating the peoples” rights without even feeling remorse. Human rights organizations and civil societies are also responsible for watching and disclosing the relating crimes. Egyptian media should also concentrate on endorsing the exposure of such practices before the officials and the public opinion as well. I hoped all honest Egyptian writers could have covered the case of Abdullatif same like other less important cases they adopt. I confirm that the atrocity against Hamada Abdullatif is a message we must all understand strictly.