Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (E.O.H.R.) has announced the

release of its report

2005.

The first section of the report discusses legislative and judicial amendments

adopted in 2005,

the most important of which, according to the report, was the amendment of article 76 of the

Egyptian

constitution on May 25.

Under this amendment, presidential candidates are required to have the

backing of at least 250 members of the People’s Assembly, the Shūrá Council and local

councils

to be eligible to run for president. Given the fact that the ruling National Democratic Party

(N.D.P.) dominates

the parliament, the amended article creates a difficult barrier for independent

candidates who want to run for

office, the report says.

The report criticizes law no. 174 of 2005

pertaining to the organization of

presidential elections and the formation of electoral

committees.

According to the report, the right to life

is violated in different forms. It detailed

cases of deaths in custody at police stations or prisons as a result of

torture. Police torture resulted in

17 deaths during 2005, the report says.

On December 21, 2005,

Jum‘ah Sa‘d al-

Ziftāwī [Reviewer: no function mentioned] was shot dead on his

way to the polling station in Rizq

Hamāmū Primary School in Kafr al-Shaykh governorate by security

forces which were surrounding the

school to prevent people from voting [Reviewer: no further information mentioned

about the

incident].

The report examines 34 cases of torture which include severe beatings, burning with

cigarettes, whipping, sexual abuse of female detainees, handcuffing, blindfolding, etc.

The report

reveals

that collective punishment was commonly used by Egyptian security forces, citing the incidents of

Muharram Bik in

Alexandria, Kafr Saqr in al-Sharqīyah, Dimshāw Hāshim in Minia, Abū

Shalīb village

in al-Gharbīyah and Sarāndū village in al-Buhayrah as cases in point. The

excessive use of force

by the police during clashes with citizens is also highlighted in the

report.

Prison conditions remain poor,

the report says. E.O.H.R. has highlighted the deteriorating

conditions in prisons, in particular overcrowded cells

and lack of proper hygiene, medical care, food and

proper ventilation. An estimated 22,000 political prisoners were

detained during the 1990s but the number

has dropped to 16,000-18,000 in recent years, the report

says.

Commenting on the exercise of freedom

of expression in Egypt, the report says that the government

confiscated 40 books from the Cairo

International Book Fair (C.I.B.F.).