(HRinfo/IFEX) – In a 15 June 2006 communiqué submitted to the public prosecutor, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo) holds the Interior Ministry totally responsible for the life and health condition of blogger and prisoner of opinion Mohammad Al-Sharqawi. HRinfo demands that the public prosecutor require the Interior Ministry to allow Al-Sharqawi to […]
(HRinfo/IFEX) – In a 15 June 2006 communiqué submitted to the public prosecutor, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo) holds the Interior Ministry totally responsible for the life and health condition of blogger and prisoner of opinion Mohammad Al-Sharqawi.
HRinfo demands that the public prosecutor require the Interior Ministry to allow Al-Sharqawi to be admitted to hospital, where he could receive necessary medical care for injuries resulting from torture, particularly injuries to his hips and left arm.
Al-Sharqawi was detained on 25 May along with Karim Al-Sha’er. Al-Sharqawi has been subject to violent torture and abuse at the hands of police officers at Qasr El-Nil police station, which caused several injuries to different parts of his body.
Though the public prosecutor had examined the physical effects on al-Sharqawi’s body, it took the Interior Ministry three days to adhere to the public prosecutor’s decision to refer Al-Sharqawi for forensic medical examination. Since then, the Interior Ministry has obstinately insisted on denying that Al-Sharqawi has been tortured, and has also denied him necessary medical care, including that which is urgently needed to cure his left arm.
Some officers at the prison where Al-Sharqawi is detained told his friends and HRinfo’s representative that they are doing their best to help him get permission to see the prison doctor, but that admitting him to a hospital requires the Interior Ministry’s approval, which could not be obtained until now.
“In addition to the prosecutor’s refusal to fulfill Al-Sharqawi’s demand to be submitted to a magistrate, and the fact that the officers accused of practicing torture against him have not been investigated, the Interior Ministry now denies him urgent medical care. His life is in real danger, and nobody knows to whom he shall appeal,” said Gamal Eid, HRinfo’s executive director.
“We have submitted a communiqué to the public prosecutor demanding that he require the Interior Ministry to provide Al-Sharqawi with the required medical care. We have doubts about the prosecutor’s response, especially when it is clear that all state bodies are colluding against Mohammad Al-Sharqawi, for no reason except that he is responsible for shedding light on brutal police practices against innocent citizens, who, in turn, have not committed any crimes except peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression,” added Eid.
HRinfo calls upon local and international civil society to exert pressure on the Egyptian government to save Al-Sharqawi’s life, which is in ever-increasing danger.
