Cairo in ‏...................

Torture is a crime that is not abolished by prescription.
HRAAP welcomes the decision of the Attorney-General to refer a police officer to the Criminal Court accusing him of torturing the actress Habeba to force her to confess to a killing crime that she did not commit.

The Attorney general issued his decision of referring the officer/ Yaser AlAkkad in the criminal investigation bureau in the Public Security section. The public attorney accused him of torturing and forcing the actress Habeba to confess a crime she did not commit, and for forging official reports when he was the head of the Investigation Bureau in Al Haram police station then.

This decision came after the Prosecution Bureau of Incidents in the southern Giza took over the investigation with the mentioned officer in the incident for torturing the citizen Habeba and forcing her to confess to killing her husband /Attallah Ga’far Attallah “Qatarian”. That is why; she was condemned in committing the crime, and had been sentenced to ten years in prison. She spent five years in prison until the true killers appeared and confessed that they had committed the crime. That is what the investigation and the coroner’s report assured, which revealed that the crime circumstances suit the confession of the true killers and don’t suit that of Habeba’s who was obliged to confess committing the crime under the pressure of beating and threats. They threatened to strip her clothes. In addition, the police assistants beat her by their sticks on different parts in her body that led to her having wounded seriously as stated in the two reports of the coroner.

In this frame, it is worthy saying that HRAAP has reported to the Public Attorney Mr. Maher Abd Awahed in 4/12/2003 to investigate in the issue of torture of the actress Habeba in addition to torturing other four citizens from Toukh and forcing them to confess a killing crime. The report was registered as 12207 in 11/12/2003, in order to Cairo Prosecution Appeal Bureau takes the necessary legal measurements. Then, it was registered by 6197 in 13/12/2003 and was signed to be reviewed to take the necessary legal measurements.

 The Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners