Egypt: Detention and torture of Zakaria and Dia Ibrahim

Egypt: Detention and torture of Zakaria and Dia Ibrahim
The Egyptian authorities continue to forcibly arrest anyone who challenges the regime. Acting with complete impunity, they are almost always in contradiction with the principles of international and domestic law to which Egypt is party. The security services not only carry out multiple arbitrary arrests, but expose detainees to torture in an effort to extract false confessions to be used as evidence in unfair trials. The most recent victims of arbitrary detention are two brothers, Zakaria Mohamed Hamid Hassan Ibrahim, 22, and Dia’ Eddine Mohamed Hamid Hassan Ibrahim, 26.

Zakaria Ibrahim was arrested on 22 September 2009 by State Security Intelligence (SSI) forces and was detained in Al-Mazah military prison in Heliopolis, Cairo. During one week, he was exposed severe torture and ill-treatment: suspension, beatings, starvation and solitary confinement, before being release on 28 September 2009, provided that he visits the SSI headquarters for bi-monthly interrogations.

His brother Dia’ Ibrahim, was arrested at his work on 8 December 2009 and is currently held in Al-Mazah military prison, where he has been subjected to torture and ill-treatment. The authorities have tried to force him to sign false confessions condemning his brother, but he has refused. Zakaria Ibrahim has now fled for fear of a second arrest and further torture.

Alkarama calls upon the Egyptian authorities to release Dia’ Ibrahim or at least that they stop torturing him and to stop these flagrant violations of human rights. Alkarama intends to submit Zakaria and Dia’ Ibrahim’s cases to the Special Rapporteur on Torture.