The Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners Campaign

Hand in Hand ... Egypt without Torture

  Cairo: 5/5/2004
 

The Criminal Court in Giza decides to postpone the case No. 28608/2003 Al-Haram district criminals in which five suspects are accused of killing Habeba’s husband and accused also an investigator on the accusation of torturing Habeba and forcing her to confess to killing her husband

On 4/5/2004, The Criminal Court in Giza decides to postpone the case No. 28608/2003, registration No. 4451/2003 high court – southern Giza -  Al-Haram district criminals, in which five suspects are accused of killing Habeba’s husband and accused also an investigator on the accusation of torturing Habeba and forcing her to confess to killing her husband to session of 3/8/2004 to summon the fourth suspect Fathy Mabrouk and the court decided to affiliate the papers of retrying Habeba where the Cassation Court decided in 27/2/004 to annul the ruling of the criminal court in Giza to sentence her to ten years in prison with hard labor on the accusation of killing and returning the paper of the case to the Appeal Court to determine a circle in Criminal court to reconsider the case. The criminal court in Giza decided to reconsider that case with the case of the five suspects accused of killing her husband and the investigator accused of torturing her to confess to killing her husband with the continuation of detaining the first, second, third and fifth suspects and paying the attention of both Habeba and the investigator Yaser Al-Akkad to attend the coming session.

This trial came after the decision of the Attorney General to approve of referring the investigator Yaser Al-Akkad “ in criminal investigations of the public security” after the general prosecution office accused him of torturing Habeba and forcing her to confess a crime she did not commit in addition to forging the official reports when he was the chief of investigation office in Al-Haram police station.

This decision comes after the prosecution office of southern Giza undertook investigations with the mentioned officer in the incident of torturing Habeba Mohammed Sa’eed, the incidents go back to about five years ago, after sentencing to her ten years in prison, after condemning her for killing her husband /Atallah Ga’far Atallah (Qatarian), after her confession before the Investigation Bureau and the Public Attorney. This confession, which she denied before the court during the trial and supported her denial by the report of the legal medicine, which proves that she was exposed to torture during the period of detention, however the court didn’t take this in consideration and sentenced her the previous sentence. She didn’t have anything to do but she resorted to appeal this sentence, and the session was specified after four years of the sentence in prison. Before the Supreme court took a decision for the appeal, the fate had had another opinion, and a big surprise was burst, surprised the all by confessing some of the suspects, by chance, to committing this crime and many other crimes, and they denied the relation of Habeba to this crime. Also, the legal medicine proved that the crime happened according to the confession of the true suspects and not to the one of the suspect Habeba, which she was condemned by it before the court.

 The suspect Habeba assured that her confession was as a result of forcing her and the witnesses not to say their testimony by the way which helps her to prove her innocence. She assured that she was beaten and tortured psychologically, and she was forced to act the way of committing the crime, according to what she was told by the investigators.

 As for the other citizens, they are Ragab Ibrahim Darwish, Mahmoud Ibrahim Darwish, Saber Hasan Rezk Elsayed and Bayoumy Shehata Rezk. The incidents go back to 2000, at which they were forced to confess to killing Khaled Abdeltawab, the case No 14860/2000 felonies of Toukh, and the court condemned them all, but the chance played a big role with them too, by the confession of the true suspect by committing this crime for theft.

 Because the incidents was assuring that all the suspects was exposed to torture and forcing them to confess to crimes they didn’t commit, (HRAAP) relied on the Article 25 of criminal procedures which states that (each one knows of happening of a crime, the Public Attorney can eliminate the case without a complaint or an order, and inform the public Attorney). (HRAAP) asked the consultant to perform the necessary towards this announcement, and hearing all the testimonies of victims and suspects to assure of this incidents, and this for maintaining the citizen’s honor, which the Egyptian constitution protects it, and assured it the international documents.

It is worth mentioning that (HRAAP) submitted an announcement to the consultant /Maher Abdelwahed (Attorney General) on 4/12/2003 for the incidents of torture of the young lady actor Habeba, and forcing her to confess to killing her husband, and torturing another four citizens from Toukh, and forcing them to confess to committing another killing crime. The case was registered in No. 12207 on 11/12/2003 Cairo Appeal prosecution to take the necessary procedures then it was registered in No. 767/2003 complaints of the prosecutor Appeal then it was sent to the prosecution office of southern Giza in No. 6197 on 13/12/2003 and it was signed with the case and taking the necessary procedures. 

  The human rights association for the assistance of prisoners