Egypt human rights council confirms torture allegations News
Egypt human rights council confirms torture allegations

[JURIST] In a strong move for a government-funded body, the first annual report of the Egyptian Supreme Council for Human Rights has confirmed [BBC report] the widespread belief that the country's security forces are involved in torture. The Council noted that it is normal investigative practice for security forces to arrest everyone at the scene of a crime and torture them to obtain information. Such allegations have long been made by human rights groups such as Amnesty International [news release], but this is the first time a government body has corroborated them. The report also recommends lifting the state of emergency, which has been in force for 24 years, before September's elections. This recommendation follows on the heels of last week's threat [Al Jazeera report] by the country's judiciary that judges may refuse to supervise the elections, casting doubt on the legitimacy of the results, unless a law is passed to protect the independence of the judiciary. The Egyptian Parliament [official website] is now expected to debate the report.