Monday, May 11, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
RIGHTS-EGYPT: Torture Widespread, Says UN Report
Cam McGrath
- A report by a United Nations human rights body points to compelling evidence of torture of detainees in Egypt.
The Geneva-based Committee Against Torture says in a new report that it is particularly concerned over "the mistreatment and torture of detainees by the Egyptian state security investigation department." There have been numerous reports of deaths in custody, it said.
The committee called for a visit by a UN special rapporteur on torture and to ensure that all detained persons have immediate access to a doctor and lawyer, and that they can contact their families.
The committee also urged the Egyptian government to "reconsider the maintenance" of its 21-year state of emergency which gives security officials wide ranging authority to arrest people and detain them incommunicado.
Egypt is among 131 signatories to the 1987 Convention Against Torture. It is required to submit periodic reports to a committee of 10 independent experts on its efforts to eradicate torture and on mistreatment of detainees and prisoners.
"People from all walks of life are constantly exposed to human rights abuse if taken into custody in Egypt," says Kate Allen, UK director of Amnesty International. "Existing safeguards for detainees are insufficient, frequently breached and overridden by emergency law procedures."
The Committee Against Torture reviewed the UN’s newly-released fourth periodic report on Egypt and discussed the findings with an Egyptian government delegation.
Naela Gabr, Egypt’s permanent UN representative told the committee that Egypt was fulfilling its treaty obligations on torture and that it had cooperated with UN monitors. She said the UN special rapporteur on torture had not visited Egypt because of "an incompatibility of timetables." She said the government had never objected to a visit.
The committee voiced concern that detention centres are not subject to inspection by an independent body, but Gabr said that all detention locations were open to unannounced visits by the Prosecutor’s office. Inspectors ensure that law enforcement officers respect the rights of detainees and prisoners, and those guilty of abuse are punished, she said.
Two police officers were sentenced to three years imprisonment last month for the torture and death of a prisoner while trying to make him confess to a robbery. Rights groups welcomed the conviction.
The Egyptian delegation played down the significance of Egypt’s emergency law in force since the assassination of President Anwar Sadat by Islamist extremists in 1981. It told committee members that the emergency law was a necessary measure to prevent terrorism.
Human rights groups argue that it is the main obstacle to their work in Egypt. "We consider emergency law the main instrument to violate human rights in Egypt," says Hafez Abu Sa’ada, secretary-general of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights.
"When you allow security officers to hold a person for 30 days incommunicado, it is a licence for torture," he says. The officers may wait for visible evidence of torture to disappear before releasing detainees, he says.
Not all of the committee’s findings were negative. Members welcomed new legislation that bans flogging of prisoners, and the decision by courts to refuse to accept confessions extracted under duress as evidence.
Efforts are under way to provide human rights training to Egyptian law enforcement officials and public servants, the committee members noted.
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RIGHTS-EGYPT: Torture Widespread, Says UN Report
Cam McGrath
- A report by a United Nations human rights body points to compelling evidence of torture of detainees in Egypt.
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