By IRNA,
London : Amnesty International Thursday urged the Egyptian military to take action to stop the use of torture and other ill-treatment against detainees, amid fresh evidence of abuse.
“The Egyptian military authorities have committed publicly to creating a climate of freedom and democracy after so many years of state repression,” said Amnesty’s director for the Middle East and North Africa Malcolm Smart.
“Now they must match their words with direct and immediate action,” Smart said after the London-based human rights groups reported that it had been told by former detainees they were tortured in the last days before President Hosni Mubarak was ousted.
The torture was said to include of the armed forces using beatings, whipping and other forms of torture and other ill-treatment to intimidate protestors and to obtain
information about plans for the protests.
“The military authorities must intervene to end torture and other abuse of detainees, which we now know to have been taking place in military custody,” Smart warned in a statement obtained by IRNA.
“The authorities must immediately issue clear instructions to all security forces and members of the army that torture or other ill-treatment of detainees will not be tolerated, and that those responsible for these abuses will be held to account”, he said.
One 29-year old former detainee was quoted saying that the armed forces called him a “traitor and a foreign agent” before being beaten with a whip, stepped on with boots and kicked, then later was subjected to electric shocks and threatened with rape.
Amnesty also called on the Egyptian military to immediately disclose the names and whereabouts of all detainees and either release them promptly or charge them with recognizable criminal offences.
“Those now in power must ensure that all allegations of torture or other ill-treatment are investigated promptly, thoroughly and impartially, that officials responsible for such abuses are brought to justice, and that victims receive full reparation,” Smart said.