7 - 13 February 2002
Issue No.572
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 7 - 13 February 2002 Issue No.572 |
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The tip of the iceberg
As European countries step up their cooperation with Egypt in the global war on terrorism, a human rights organisation has expressed concern about the future of those extradited, reports Jailan Halawi
Amnesty International has announced that two men extradited by Sweden to Egypt in December were being held at a prison outside of Cairo in late January.
Amnesty, a London-based human rights organisation, issued a report on 1 February saying that the Swedish ambassador, Sven G Linder, had visited the two men, identified as 39-year-old Ahmed Hussein Egeiza and 33-year-old Mohamed Ibrahim El-Zarri, on 23 January at Mazra'a Tora Prison, south of Cairo.
Sweden announced that it was deporting Egeiza and El-Zarri on 18 December after rejecting their requests for political asylum on the grounds that they were suspected of committing "terrorist acts" in Egypt. Egypt had not issued public statements or informed the men's families as to their whereabouts.
Egeiza, said to be the leader of the underground Islamist group the Vanguards of the Conquest that is affiliated with the Jihad group, was tried in absentia and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1999. His case, dubbed the "Returnees from Albania," was heard by a military court. Egeiza's name was also on the 14-man wanted list that Egypt issued in 1997 following the Luxor massacre, which left 58 foreigners and four Egyptians dead.
Montasser El-Zayyat, lawyer of the underground group Al-Gama'a Al- Islamiya, has filed an appeal on behalf of Egeiza with the ratification office, which is attached to the presidency and is concerned with ratifying military tribunal sentences. The appeal calls for overturning Egeiza's sentence and holding a retrial.
El-Zarri is wanted in conjunction with a series of terrorist attacks carried out in Egypt during the 1990s. He is alleged to be a key figure in the Jihad militant Islamist group.
Egeiza and El-Zarri's deportation marks the first time that a European court has accepted and acted on evidence gathered by Egyptian intelligence services. Political analysts described the move as a change in strategy by Western countries that could lead to the extradition of many other wanted expatriate militants.
Since 11 September, European and North American states have undergone a shift in policies and perceptions on the issue of political asylum and human rights in conjunction with the US war against terrorism. This change has raised fears among international human rights organisations about possible widespread violation of human rights.
Amnesty has called for an international protest against both Sweden and Egypt for "flagrant" violations of international law. It said that the "forcible return of any person to a country where they are at risk of serious human rights violations is a violation of Sweden's obligations under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment."
Nevertheless, the Swedish government said it was confident that both men would be treated properly, and had received assurances from Egypt that the Swedish Embassy would be allowed to follow their trials and visit them.
After visiting Egeiza and El-Zarri, the Swedish ambassador told Amnesty that the men seemed to be in good health. However, they reportedly complained to the ambassador about having been treated in a "rough" manner while being deported from Sweden, but did not "volunteer" information to suggest that they were subjected to torture or ill- treatment during interrogation sessions.
The Swedish Embassy told Al-Ahram Weekly, "Neither man showed obvious signs of having been tortured. They seemed to be in relatively good condition."
Egeiza's relatives, who visited him on the same day, told Amnesty a different story. Egeiza reportedly said that he was subjected to "torture and ill- treatment" while being held incommunicado. He also told his family that he was ill-treated during his arrest in Sweden and that he was restrained in a "cruel" and "inhuman" manner while being transported to Egypt.
Amnesty said that since the Ambassador Linder met Egeiza and El- Zarri on 23 January, there has been no further information concerning their whereabouts. Swedish authorities have not scheduled their next visit.
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