- Funeral prayer for Essam Atta, 28 October 2011; Source: Jonathan Rashad (Flickr)
According to other detainees prison guards forced large water hoses into Atta’s mouth and anus resulting in severe internal bleeding. Atta was then transferred to a hospital but he died within an hour. The incident occurred shortly after two police officers were sentenced to seven years for their role in the murder of Khaled Said. Said became the face of the Egyptian revolution which saw Mubarak stepping down in February.
The population is becoming more and more agitated with the lack of progress and the measures of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf). Aida Seif el-Dawla from the El Nadeem centre for rehabilitation of victims of torture said: “Nothing, absolutely nothing, has changed. There is nothing rogue about this killing, and nor was it about the mentality of the security officers. It was about official policy and the systematic use of torture in our security system. Those who tortured Essam to death could not have done so unless they knew they were going to get away with it."
According to a statement by the Ministry of Interior, Atta died of “unknown poisoning” and the guards tried to save him.
Guardian: Egyptian anger grows after latest case of death by torture
Washington Post: Egyptian prisoner tortured to death, activists say
