VZCZCXYZ0022
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #0031 0081541
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 081541Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7856
INFO RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS CAIRO 000031 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
NSC STAFF FOR PASCUAL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV EG
SUBJECT: EGYPT'S COURTS CONTINUE TO CONVICT POLICE IN ABUSE 
CASES 
 
REF: CAIRO 3214 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
¶1. (U)  On January 4, an Alexandria court reportedly 
convicted a police major and two junior policemen of abusing 
a detainee in April 2007.  The major reportedly ordered his 
men to beat the detainee and then force him to appear 
publicly in women's clothes.  The court sentenced the major 
to five years in prison.  The two lower-ranking officers 
received one-year sentences. The three are apparently in jail 
and have the right to appeal. 
 
¶2. (U)  This is the third instance since November of an 
Egyptian court convicting police officers for abusing 
detainees.  On November 5, two police officers were convicted 
of sodomizing a bus driver and sentenced to three years in 
prison (reftel).  According to media reports, on November 27, 
three policemen were convicted of beating a man to death in a 
police station in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura and 
sentenced to seven years in prison. 
 
¶3. (SBU)  Our human rights contacts view this case as a 
positive development.  A local representative of Human Rights 
Watch said that while he is not yet ready to declare this a 
"trend," he found this case to be a "very interesting 
development."  A human rights lawyer told us that a few years 
ago, he never would have dreamt of a police officer being 
sentenced to prison.  He called the conviction a "great way" 
to start 2008. He also said that the five-year sentence will 
result in the major's dismissal from the police force. 
Another human rights activist praised the Ministry of 
Interior's internal affairs unit and said he recently had 
noticed a change in police officers' behavior when he visited 
stations.  He also found it noteworthy that the length of the 
sentence will probably result in the major's dismissal. 
 
 
Ricciardone