Video reveals mistreatment of detainees in Egypt

A group of Egyptian activists have released a new video on YouTube they claim to have been recorded at a state detention facility. It shows Egyptian security guards abusing detainees, most of whom are believed to be political activists and pro-democracy demonstrators.

As the detainees arrive at the centre, dozens of security officers, some in plain clothes, are waiting for them; most are carrying batons and proceed to beat, ridicule and hurl insults at the prisoners.

An Istanbul-based human rights organisation report claims that the Egyptian authorities have imprisoned nearly 22,000 activists since the military coup which ousted Egypt’s elected president, Mohamed Morsi, last year. Hundreds of the detainees announced last month that they have started a hunger strike in protest at the conditions of their detention.

The organisation accused the Egyptian authorities of serious human rights violations against the detainees, most notably medical neglect, violating legal rights and imposing restrictions on visits.

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