“A nation without torture” t-shirt owner Mahmoud Mohamed received yet another 45 days of pre-trial detention on Tuesday, adding to his 667 days without being charged or tried for any offences. Residing in a cell with 44 other inmates, the teenager was allegedly beaten and electrocuted into saying he possessed explosives and belongs to Muslim Brotherhood. “Get me out of here, I am going to die,” Mohamed had told his parents the second day he was detained. Mohamed was arrested on 25 January 2014, the third anniversary of Egypt’s 2011 revolution. On his way home from a protest against military rule and the Muslim Brotherhood, the 17-year-old was stopped and searched at a check point on the ring road, narrates his brother Tarek. Interior ministry security forces discovered the t-shirt beneath his jacket, which prompted them to beat, insult, and stomp on Mohamed. He was taken to a nearby police station and brought before National Security officers for interrogation. In an attempt to dictate a “confession” and videotape it, Mohamed was blindfolded and his hands were cuffed behind his back, according to Tarek. At first, Mohamed refused to confess to…
700 Days Behind Bars: An Egyptian Teenager Detained for ‘Anti-Torture’ T-shirt
November 17, 2015
