press : 22/5/2005

Torture & Murder unlawfully.

Strong suspicions concerning the murder of an accused citizen

In the recent terrorist bombings in his unknown detention place.

The Association for Human Rights Legal Aid, AHRLA, has read the statement of MR. Attorney General, concerning the circumstances surrounding the death of the accused citizen Ashraf Saied Youssef, one of the accused people in the recent bombing incidents occurred in Alazhar and Altahreer Square, it was published in the Egyptian newspapers dated Sunday 22 May 2005, and AHRLA considered it as a formal explanation of the accused citizen death, validated by the Egyptian Government. But we in AHRLA are very astounded  by the ambiguity and vagueness of the statement about the detention place, the governmental body that gave the detention order, and to which administration the policemen who detained him whether as security procedure or pending investigation belonged to! All of that is not mentioned and not clear which throws heavy shadows on the death itself, and the possibility of dying out of torture, as echo of the irony hand policy adopted by the Egyptian interior ministry  to face the Islamic movement activists, which is considered as unlawful murder.

In spite  of AHRLA belief that the accusation leveled against this citizen is as serious as these bombings a matter that will aggravated beyond control, but it does not mean surrendering to the Interior ministry officers contraventions to the limits to their job in safeguarding citizens lives and dignity.

AHRLA sees this kind of insistence of the security systems on using torture as an only way to deal with various issues that involve the citizen affaires, thereby the insistence of the state and its systems to act as violence provoker by using torture with citizens, which leads automatically to increase of the counter violence and terrorism crimes.

When AHRLA tried to get more explanations to relieve its suspicious concerning the citizen death, by contact the University Hospital of Almanile, but our requests were rejected completely. And they refused to inform AHRLA by any kind of medical information or documents that may reveal the actual cause of death.

In the light of previous similar incidents, AHRLA feels the falsity of security systems to account for such accidents, so AHJRLA can do nothing but to address the following bodies: The National Council of Human Rights, The Human Rights Committee in People Assembly, in order to enact their roles in finding out the truth about the death of the citizen Ashraf Saied and revealing.

AHRLA also claims MR. Attorney General to declare another statement on the same concerns without more ambiguity and vagueness.