Egyptian dies of torture in custody in Alexandria

An Egyptian has reportedly died on Tuesday in a police station in Alexandria, Egypt after being subjected to torture, according to El-Shehab Center for Human Rights.

Raafat Hamed, who lived in the coastal city, had been forcibly disappeared and subsequently tortured until his bones were broken as a result of torture.

The Egyptian rights organisation held the Ministry of Interior responsible for Hamed’s death, adding that the notorious Akrab (scorpion) Prison’s administration refused to take him into the prison due to his deteriorating situation and returned him to Dikhaila Police Station instead.

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The centre called on public prosecutors to investigate Hamed’s death and hold those involved in it accountable.

The centre’s director Khalaf Bayoumi told Aljazeera.net website that Hamed did not suffer from any illnesses and was in good health condition before his enforced disappearance and detention a month ago.

This is not the first detainee to die in custody in Egypt. Human Rights Watch points to “widespread and systematic torture” in the country’s detention facilities. “Under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s regular police and National Security officers routinely torture political detainees with techniques including beatings, electric shocks, stress positions, and sometimes rape,” the international rights watchdog added.