VZCZCXYZ0027
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #3874 1721538
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 211538Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9376
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS CAIRO 003874 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC STAFF FOR SINGH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM EG
SUBJECT: GOE PROSECUTES STATE SECURITY OFFICER ON TORTURE 
CHARGES 
 
REF: CAIRO 3270 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
¶1. (SBU)  In a notable break with past practice, GOE 
prosecutors have moved to prosecute a State Security officer 
on torture charges.  In recent years, there has been a modest 
trend of successful prosecutions of regular police officials 
on torture and abuse charges in Egyptian criminal courts. 
Personnel working for the State Security Investigative 
Services (SSIS), however, have not previously faced 
prosecution for abuse of detainees.  This has led Human 
Rights Watch and other respected observers to complain of "a 
culture of impunity" within the elite Egyptian security 
services regarding investigation, prosecution, and punishment 
of personnel for torture and abuse. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  According to recent media accounts, the 
prosecutor's office at the East Cairo Criminal Court has 
referred an SSIS captain, Ashraf Mostafa Hussein Safwat Abdul 
Qader, to trial for the alleged torture resulting in death of 
detainee Mohammed Abdul Qader El-Sayed.  According to press 
reports and materials published by human rights 
organizations, El-Sayed died on September 21, 2003, after 
being detained and interrogated by Captain Ashraf Mostafa 
starting on September 16.  El-Sayed's corpse bore marks 
consistent with torture, including severe bruising about the 
head and body and electrical burns on the genitals.  We do 
not know why El-Sayed was detained.  The first hearing in the 
prosecution of Captain Ashraf Mostafa on June 20, 2006 was 
closed to all but SSIS officials. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Human rights activists have cautiously welcomed 
the GOE decision to prosecute, noting that previous attempts 
to prosecute SSIS officials for torture have not progressed 
beyond the investigation stage.  Ehab Salam of the Human 
Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners (HRAAP) 
termed the referral of the officer to trial as "very 
positive" and "unprecedented."  Hossam Bahgat of the Egyptian 
Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) asserted that the case 
could have "huge" implications since an apparent de facto GOE 
ban on prosecuting SSIS officers has been broken.  Both 
activists agreed that the case merits close scrutiny in order 
to determine if the GOE is in fact considering a new, harder 
line against SSIS officers accused of torture.  Post will 
follow and report on significant developments in this case. 
RICCIARDONE