Egypt tortured suspects in terror case, Human Rights Watch says

Egyptian authorities used torture in a high-profile terrorism case first announced in April 2006, Human Rights Watch said in a report Tuesday, The New York Times reported the next day

The report, the article notes, “said the Egyptian authorities had little or no evidence when they charged 22 men with a dramatic terrorism plot last year, and that the men were beaten and tortured with electricity and cigarette burns before confessing. There are indications that even the name of the group the men supposedly belonged to – the Victorious Sect – was concocted by security agents, according to the report.”

According to the article: “The case drew considerable attention when it was first announced in April 2006. The Egyptian authorities said they had uncovered a plot to blow up oil pipelines, kill Muslim and Christian religious figures and tourists, and acquire land for a terrorist training camp.”

The Times later adds: “The arrests may have been intended to help justify the renewal of Egypt’s emergency law, which came shortly afterward in 2006, said Joanne Mariner, the terrorism and counterterrorism director at Human Rights Watch. The men arrested were young and had conservative religious views, like many of those arrested in such cases, she added.”

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