مركز النديم لتأهيل ضحايا العنف والتعذيب

Shady Abdel Bary Salem is a 31 year old unmarried, Egyptian lawyer. Five years ago Shady was diagnosed with a psychological disorder. It was diagnosed by his treating doctor as paranoid schizophrenia. This causes him to imagine that he is being watched and that he is vulnerable to persecution and murder. His illness responds to medication. With regular treatment Shady can adapt to society, and to family and friends. He will also be able to understand the medical nature of his ideas and doubts.

The expected place for Mr. Shady Abdel Bary Salem to be is in his home, continuing his treatment with a specialist doctor. Or in a hospital if the doctor believes that the situation calls for it.

Fady Mohamed Mostafa is a 26 year old Egyptian man, who is married and has a daughter who is 20 months old. He went to industrial secondary school and works as a real estate broker in an office in 6th of October City. He also owns a kiosk in accordance with the project “build a home” which was introduced by the National Democratic Party to give loans to people to “build a home”. The police officers in Police station 2 of 6th of October City had a different scenario in mind.

Fady had to pay the price of living in 6th of October City, which is to bribe a police officer in Police Station 2 of 6th of October City. He however, would not pay it. He had the money but believed that his wife and daughter were more deserving of it. What would make him pay a bribe if he has not broken the law? He complied with the invitation of the National Democratic Part for the youth of Egypt to ‘build a home’.

At 3PM on 5/04/2009 a group of men; Captain Ahmed Samir Sha’ban from Investigative Services and police officers Mohamed Salah and Khaled Saber Hemdan Abdel Tawab arrested him and took him to 6th Of October City’s Police Station 2.

Fady says:
“There were day workers in the van.... Captain Ahmed Samir was hitting everyone as he passed. He hit me, I turned to him and I said to him do you think I am a thief or a criminal? All you have a right to ask of me is my National Identity card and here it is. He ordered the police officers to handcuff me behind my back. In the hallway of the Police Station that has doors leading to the offices of the Police Officers and the Director of Investigative Services, they started hitting me. The captain and five police officers. They slapped me on my face. I bowed down, so the captain elbowed me in my back. I felt a terrible pain and I limped for a period. They kept hitting me for twenty minutes.

Hospital permits handcuffs on Barakat while in ICU

Damanhour public attorney rejects referral of Barakat to equipped hospital

On the 17^th of May 2009 at 7 p.m. a state security police force in Damanhour, led by SSI officer Nagi El Gammal broke into the apartment of Ahmed Ali Hussein Eid in Damanhour - Beheira governorate while the latter was celebrating the 7^th day of birth of his daughter Menna Ahmed Eid in the presence of a number of family members and friends. The police force broke into the apartment, aggressed the family and their friends and arrested them claiming to have a warrant. The search and arrest were violent and abusive.

According to witnesses and the minutes of case no. 4916/2009/administrative/Damanhour, when officers Nagi El Gammal and assistant Gamal el Taye'e were carrying out the arrest, Fares Barakat, one of the friends present, asked to see the prosecutor's warrant for search and arrest, upon which he was pushed back by Nagi el Gammal towards the balcony. When he tried to resist he was held back by Gamal el Taye'e who was ordered by El Gammal: "To throw this man from the balcony". Barakat fell from the 4^th floor, was badly injured and lost consciousness.

Bystanders called the ambulance which transferred Barakat, accompanied by his brother and wife, to the national medical institute in Damanhour. At the hospital he was admitted into ICU on the second floor at 8 p.m. where he was examined and x-rayed. Investigations revealed that Barakat was suffering the following:

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Once again.. Women speak out.

Results of a Field Research on violence against women in Egypt

Introduction

In 1994 the New Woman Research foundation together with El Nadim Center carried out the first field research on women's perceptions of gender violence. The research was a contribution to the preparatory activities of Egyptian civil society organizations for the Beijing conference on women. It came as a reply to those who claimed that violence against women does not happen in our societies, that it is rare and limited to poor, deprived and marginalized classes and that even when it happens, women do not object to it and consider it a natural component of their personal lives and therefore should not be addressed by outsiders.

At that time, because we are women, and because we believed that human beings all over the world and across all times were thriving for physical and psychological safety and wellbeing, and because we are convinced that our people and our women are not an exception to that rule, since they are first and foremost human begins, we decided to seek the voices of women themselves concerning their attitudes towards violence in general and that violence which befalls them and their children in particular. The results of the 1994 research confirmed that we Egyptian women are no different from all the rest of the world.. we reject harm, humiliation and oppression and wish for a life that is free of violence, injustice and discrimination, even when such a life seems difficult to achieve because of social and economic factors and religious interpretations colored by the mentality of the interpreters.