Egyptian authorities rounded up thousands of Arish residents and tortured many in the wake of the October 7 bombings at the Taba tourist resorts in the Sinai Peninsula, an Egyptian human rights group has reported. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), in a report released on November 9, documented human rights violations and thousands of arbitrary arrests of the citizens of Arish, northern Sinai by security forces searching for the perpetrators of the deadly blasts. "This report reveals the disastrous events that occurred after the bombings, based on statements of people whose relatives had been arrested as well as witnesses who confirmed that security bodies have arrested some 3,000 residents of Arish and neighboring villages", read the 25-page account from the nongovernmental organization. "Mass arrests are periodically carried out, and at any one time the security forces office holds some 100 to 150 individuals who are interrogated before being sent to detention", it said. The report, based on dozens of documented interviews with victims, their relatives and witnesses, accuses the Egyptian authorities of holding women and children as "pawns" in a bid to force suspects to turn themselves in or to confess to carrying out the attacks. In many cases homes have been raided, residents detained and personal possessions destroyed as part of these operations - a flagrant violation of the Egyptian constitution and international human rights instruments ratified by the country. Sixteen-year-old Mohammed Ahmed Hemdan Rizq Abdullah told EOHR that he was arrested, blindfolded, undressed and severely beaten up and subjected to electric shocks to reveal the whereabouts of one of the suspects. The group said that interrogators used electric shocks, beatings, suspension by the wrists or ankles and psychological torture, including threats to kill or rape the detainees or their female relatives. The EOHR cited the case of a man who was forced to watch his brother being tortured. The man said that his brother could use neither his hands nor his legs after the torture. "He was severely beaten, bleeding from the mouth and he couldn't stand on his feet", said the man. In other cases women were abused. One woman was bleeding from a recent miscarriage, yet officers refused to allow her to have proper medical treatment. Some women said they heard screaming from detainees held at the security forces office. The report also said several witnesses stated that security forces forcibly lifted the face veils from women walking in the street. The EOHR stated that it has received information that the mother of the suspected mastermind of the attacks, the Egyptian-born Palestinian refugee Eyad Said, had died during her detention. The group said that witnesses confirmed that her death was likely caused by torture but that the cause of death was still being investigated. Governor Ahmed Abdel Hamid defended the arrests at a conference organized by North Sinai governorate saying that what was happening in Arish "was the kind of investigation that would enable security forces to reach the truth". The same sentiment was echoed by sources at the interior ministry who confirmed the mass arrests but denied torture, claiming that their actions were a necessary step in their attempt to arrest the suspects and protect Egyptians from terrorism. Ashraf Ibrahim, member of the Popular Committee for Citizens' Rights, told the Middle East Times that the number of detainees has exceeded 3,000. "No one knows where they were detained or what is happening to them at the moment", he said. Earlier this month a group of representatives from EOHR, other human rights groups and opposition parties staged a sit-in at the branch of the Tagmmua party in Arish to condemn the mass arrests. But soon the office was surrounded by a large number of security forces who prevented many people from taking part in the sit-in. "They stopped everyone who was trying to enter the office and warned them to return home or be arrested with the others", said an Arish citizen, who added that his brother was arrested two weeks earlier and has yet to be released.
Rights group reports arrests, torture following Taba blasts
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