Abuse abroad

Allegations that two Egyptians were tortured by the Kuwaiti police raise questions about the conditions endured by expatriate workers, writes Mohamed El-Sayed

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The Kuwaiti prosecution last week ordered the release of a second Egyptian worker, Hossam Selim, arrested on 24 July together with Gamal Abdel-Shafi, for allegedly fabricating a work permit. Claims by the two men that they were tortured by Kuwaiti police officers have caused a public outcry in Egypt.

Last week, Ahmed Abdallah, Egypt's consul- general in Kuwait, held a press conference to announce the release of the second worker, Selim.

"The case of Selim and Abdel-Shafi should have been dealt with as a lawsuit and referred to the prosecution... they should not have been tortured into confessing," Abdallah told reporters. He added that the Kuwaiti prosecution was still investigating the workers' allegations of torture. "We will continue to demand compensation for the torture they experienced," said Abdallah.

"Kuwaiti officials have cooperated with us in securing the release of the second accused on bail," said Abdallah, stressing that the consulate would follow up the cases of the two men. "We are not opposing the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry. Rather, we are suing one officer and his assistants responsible [for torturing the two Egyptians]."

Selim and Abdel-Shafi denied the Kuwaiti officer's claim they had assaulted him. "Investigating officers have threatened to bring Egyptian eyewitnesses who will say we assaulted them," they said during the press conference.

Meanwhile, amid news reports saying the officers who allegedly tortured Selim and Abdel-Shafi have resigned, Sameh Ashour, head of the Arab Lawyers Union, has assigned the head of the Kuwaiti Bar Association, Jasser Al-Jadie, as Selim and Abdel-Shafi's lawyer.

Kuwaiti officials have been keen to downplay the incident. Crown Prince Sheikh Nawwaf Al-Ahmed insists such "isolated incidents will not undermine relations between the two countries". Kuwaiti Minister of Justice, Islamic Endowments and Affairs Abdullah Al-Maatouq told reporters that the case "is being investigated by the prosecutor-general and everybody will obtain their rights... we totally reject humiliating our Egyptian brethren or violating their rights."

In Egypt the use of torture against Selim and Abdel-Shafi has been condemned by human rights organisations and raised questions about the response of Egyptian diplomats.

"The [Egyptian] authorities continue to respond negatively to complaints made by Egyptians overseas," said a statement issued by the Egyptian Human Rights Organisation following the Kuwaiti incident. "Embassies and consulates only convey the Egyptians' complaints to the concerned authorities without investigating or seriously following up on them... embassies tend to try and avoid any diplomatic and political problems that might arise due to problems faced by Egyptian expatriates."

Egyptian officials have been keen to contain the fallout from the case although Ambassador Ahmed El-Quisni, assistant foreign minister for consular affairs, insists the Foreign Ministry "defends the rights of Egyptians overseas when any abuse is backed by well-documented information". He denied that there was any "arbitrary treatment of Egyptians by Arab authorities or any negative feelings towards them", and called on Egyptians working in Arab countries to "respect the laws of the countries they work in so that the authorities of these countries respect them".

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit has also played down the incident. "There are five million Egyptians working abroad, three million based in the Gulf countries and Libya... so it is expected that problems will occasionally arise when employers or employees violate the laws of the host countries," he said in an interview with the daily Al-Ahram. "The ministry receives relatively few complaints considering the number of Egyptians working overseas."

"Frankly speaking, we have received a number of complaints [from expatriate Egyptians] that later proved to be untrue. These cases cost a lot of time and effort," he added.

Conceding a dereliction of duty on the part of some embassy officials, Abul-Gheit urged expatriates to file official complaints so that "those responsible can be held accountable" He also announced that the Foreign Ministry was currently considering ways to help fund legal cases brought by Egyptians working overseas.