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Bloggers Vs. Floggers: Another Video Exposes Police Brutality in Egypt
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ShareFebruary 22, 2007 1:04 PM
Egyptian bloggers are exposing acts of torture in the country through cell phone videos, and the government there is fighting back.
In the latest video, a police officer is seen repeatedly beating four men facing the wall on the back of their heads while continuing to curse at them.
Watch an excerpt from the video.
One of the suspects cries and pleads, but the beating continues. At one point the officer turns to the camera and says, "You dogs, you shoes," while smiling. He then brings a stick that he uses to continue the beating.
The video lasting two minutes and 48 seconds was posted today on the "Egyptian Awareness" blog of Wael Abbas, who has exposed abuse of detainees by Egyptian police through similar videos, including one that showed a man being sodomized with a stick.
Read the Blotter's previous report on abuse by Egyptian police.
Abbas links his videos to the popular YouTube Web site to get more attention.
Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.
Fighting torture in Egypt through blogging has been somewhat effective. A number of officers who appeared in similar abuse videos in the past are now facing charges.
It is not, however, an indication that the government is taking the matter seriously. The authorities seem to be putting a lot of effort into fighting the bloggers themselves.
Today, a 22-year-old blogger has been sentenced to four years in prison for insulting Islam and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Abdel Kareem Soliman had been expelled from the Islamic Al Azhar University last year for strongly criticizing its curriculum and religious extremism on his blog. "It's terrible that a person's freedom is taken away because of an opinion or a belief," said Soliman in one of his previous posts. He is the first Egyptian blogger to have ever been tried for his writings.
The sentence is a clear message from the government. Amnesty International condemned it in a press release issued today. "This sentence is yet another slap in the face of freedom of expression in Egypt," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa Deputy Program Director.
It's "unjust and cruel but very typical of the Mubarak regime which has spent the past year stifling all form of opposition," says Mona El Tahawy, Egyptian-born commentator and lecturer on Arab and Muslim issues.
El Tahawy expects the sentence will scare some bloggers, but she points out that there are many who do it anonymously to avoid harassment by the Egyptian authorities. "Blogging is important in the Arab world because the young -- who have been marginalized and excluded for so long -- have been able to use it to bypass the heavy state control on the media and to highlight state abuses such as torture and sexual abuse."
February 22, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (7)
Wow, what a shock that the Egyptians use torture. Do some real investigative work, Brian !! The US uses torture also by shipping guys to Egypt when we feel like they have information we need. Old news also
Posted by: Peter | Feb 22, 2007 2:50:23 PM
I highly doubt this video!
for three resons:
1- The room that the video shows looks like a regular roon inside an appartment building, not a "police station".
2- In the middle of the recording, the officer behind the camera is saying "yes. Hit this layer the s--- of b---". But, No lawyer HAS EVER BEENtourtured indside a Police CTATION in Egypt.
In addition,lawyers are always dressed in suits when going to a police station or court in Egypt.
3- At the end of the recording, the officer looks DIRECTLY to the camera, then talks and smiles. How can you explain this assuming he was not aware of the recording taking place in the same time?
Posted by: Maged Kamel | Feb 22, 2007 3:01:33 PM
Looks real to me. It appears the police were administering a beating to make a point and were having a fun time doing it.
It reminds me of Pol Pot's regime in Cambodia when those being tortured were advised they could not cry out during the process.
What a shame so many Arab countries have to be ruled by such strong-armed tactics. Perhaps when there is freedom of thought and speech there will be an improvement.
Posted by: Mike in Texas | Feb 22, 2007 4:26:13 PM
Maybe you are right Mark. But what made me doubt the video more is that ABC has blocked the sound.
Second thing is that these "officers" are having the rank of an "Assistant Police" in a "police station" which is not a police officer, but nontheless they have a "police rank".
The issue is these "ranks" can be bought "commercially" in the market as well as the clothes too. Ofcourse, It is a crime to impersonate a "police officer" of any rank, but how can you tell?
That is why I am doubting it!
Posted by: Maged Kamel | Feb 23, 2007 11:39:30 AM
While it is just as possible for the video to be real as fake, why even debate that fact? Its irrelevant since we all know that Egypt uses torture, we dont need this video to be real to confirm it.
Posted by: Peter | Feb 23, 2007 1:34:43 PM
I agree with you Mag, its really fake. I can make this kind of video with more good action, Rambo V.
Posted by: jangkrikkaspo | Feb 23, 2007 11:18:24 PM
Good work. Until all of the American media pulls their head out of their‘you-know-what’ this kind of stuff will never get exposed and the American people will never understand how complicated the Middle East really is and why it is such a volatile region. It really is 3D chess, but most in the media can’t seem to push their partisan minds beyond “Bush sucks.” Ask yourself this, who gives these bloggers more hope, Bush or the liberals who think the boogie man will go away if we ignore it long enough. This is 100% an ideological struggle; anti-secular, anti-liberal terrorists in one corner and those who want to move the region forward and into the global society in the other. The liberals who oppose Bush provide more support to the former than they do the latter. Again, good report.
Dave- Texas
Posted by: Dave | Feb 24, 2007 2:06:38 AM
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