CAT/C/48/D/391/2009
was under consideration by the Committee. On 10 December 2009, the State party
informed the Committee that the Migration Board has decided, on 8 July 2009, to stay the
enforcement of the decision to expel the complainants to Egypt until further notice.
Factual background
Case of M.A.M.A. (the first complainant)
2.1
According to the first complainant, his grandfather was awarded the title of Prince
by the then King of Egypt. These titles were inherited by his sons but were removed
officially by the President Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein. The first complainant trained as an
engineer at the University of Cairo. His family members were strong supporters of
President Nasser and he had been schooled in nationalism and Arab unification. The first
complainant has made a name for himself in the Arab world for his writings, mainly poetry
with political and critical undertones. His extended family had prominent positions in the
Governments of the Presidents Nasser and Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat. In the early 1980s
the first complainant was very active in the students’ union, chairing it for a while. He took
part in demonstrations and spoke at meetings. As a result, he attracted the attention of the
police. He was summoned and questioned but felt secure. He felt that he was fighting for a
better Egypt but was not involved in party politics. As a true supporter of President Nasser,
he felt that the President al-Sadat’s policies were slipping away from his ideals.
2.2
On 6 October 1981, President al-Sadat was killed, allegedly by the first
complainant’s cousin, Khalid Islambouli, and the situation changed dramatically for the
first complainant and his family. Those family members who had held high Government
positions fled Egypt and those who stayed were persecuted by the security police. On 12
October 1981, the security police arrested the first complainant while he was visiting his
aunt, Khalid Islambouli’s mother, in order to console her. He was detained for five days,
severely beaten and subjected to torture. The first complainant was interrogated about
Khalid Islambouli, his knowledge about the assassination of President al-Sadat and the
terrorist group to which Khalid Islambouli was thought to belong.
2.3
Some months after the assassination of President al-Sadat, the first complainant
organized a students’ demonstration for better health care, social reforms and changes in
the foreign policy towards Israel, which they saw as dividing the Arab world. Although the
demonstration was peaceful, the police used tear gas, truncheons and rubber bullets to
disperse the students. The first complainant was arrested and subsequently detained for 45
days, during which he experienced various forms of torture, including having his hands tied
to the ceiling, having to stand for 14 hours per day, sexual and other physical abuse, and
verbal insults. A doctor had allegedly regularly examined him to determine how much
torture he could still tolerate. The first complainant claims that his torturers always went
until he could not take it anymore. For example, they pricked his hand so that blood would
drop into a bowl and then made a dog drink from that bowl. The worst part, however, was
when the torturers penetrated his anus with bottles, truncheons and metal objects, pulled his
testicles and pubic hairs. He was repeatedly questioned about Khalid Islambouli and the
Muslim Brotherhood. The police wanted to know whether he was an Islamist and asked the
same questions time after time. When the first complainant was finally released, he was
forbidden to ever tell anyone about what had happened to him and requested to put an end
to his political activities. Despite the 20 years that passed since, the first complainant
continues to have nightmares about the torture to which he had been subjected.
2.4
After 45 days in detention, the first complainant returned to the university to finish
his studies. He stopped his political activities and left the students’ union. He had a travel
ban, even in the country, and had to report regularly to the police. At the end of 1982, the
first complainant had to do compulsory military service. He submits that usually individuals
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