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Amnesty urges Egypt to stop torture

17 February 2011 22:45 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Rights group Amnesty International has called on Egypt’s military to stop the use of torture on detained protesters, saying it has found new evidence of prisoners’ abuse, APA reports quoting Press TV.

"The military authorities must intervene to end torture and other abuse of detainees, which we now know to have been taking place in military custody," AFP quoted Amnesty International’s regional director Malcolm Smart as saying.

The rights watchdog group says it has interviewed former detainees who said they had been tortured by whipping and electric shocks by the military while in custody.

"The authorities must immediately issue clear instructions to all security forces and members of the army that torture or other ill-treatment of detainees will not be tolerated," said Smart.

Family members of Egypt’s political prisoners gathered in front of the General Prosecutor’s office in Cairo on Wednesday, demanding the release of all political detainees.

Reports say at least 500 people were arrested in the recent popular protests that toppled the ruling regime.

But an estimated 17,000 political prisoners were already locked up in Egyptian prisons, which are notorious for the use of torture.