“The Egyptian police tortured me,” said Yehia Zakaria, a Sudanese national who came to Egypt to get medical treatment for his son, in an interview with the Al-Sudani newspaper.
The Sudanese Embassy in Cairo sent a memorandum on Wednesday to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, protesting abuses against its citizens in Cairo and calling for an investigation into their detention on charges of trafficking in currency and counterfeiting dollars.
The Sudanese media also quoted the deputy head of the Sudanese community in Egypt as saying that about 15 Sudanese were subjected to harassment and assault by police in the Abdin and Azbakeya police stations.
According to a medical report published by the Sudanese media, there were signs of torture on Zakaria’s body, including bleeding of the eyeballs and bruises and burns to his hands, suggesting that he was subjected to physical and psychological torture.
“I was arrested at a bureau de change by armed men in civilian clothes and taken to the Abdin Police Station,” said Zakaria. “They did not tell me on what charge.”
“I told them that I have US$500 and LE4,000 for the treatment of my son,” he said. “The prosecutor ordered my release and the return of my money, but all in Egyptian pounds.”
“But then they took us to the National Security Apparatus where there were other Sudanese nationals detained,” he said.
He said he was afterwards taken to the Abdin Police Station and put in a cell with the most dangerous of criminals. “I was not allowed to go to the toilet,” he said. “And when I started shouting that I wanted to see my son, they beat me and stabbed cigarettes in my body.”
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry did not disclose the results of its contact with its Egyptian counterpart and said it would respond to queries from the parliament on Monday, while Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shokri said the Sudanese are treated no different than Egyptians before the law, promising to conduct an investigation into the matter.
The newspaper, however, requested that the Sudanese government clarify the steps it took to stop abuses against its citizens.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
