Thursday 15 October 2009

Bahar calls on Mubarak and Sorour to probe Abu Zhuri’s death


Bahar calls on Mubarak and Sorour to probe Abu Zhuri’s death

[ 15/10/2009 - 09:11 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Dr. Ahmed Bahar, the first deputy speaker of the Palestinian legislative council, called on president Hosni Mubarak and speaker Fathi Sorour on Wednesday to open an urgent investigation into the murder of Yousuf Abu Zuhri in Egyptian jails.

Dr. Bahar made these remarks during the funeral of slain Abu Zuhri, the brother of Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, in Rafah city, south of Gaza Strip.

Cairo had declared on Monday the death of Abu Zuhri, 38, in an Egyptian prison after his arrest six months ago at the pretext of illegal entry into Egypt.

For its part, the organization of rights for all people in Switzerland called on Egyptian authorities to open an independent and urgent investigation into the circumstances of Abu Zuhri’s death.

Rights for all people said that the family of Abu Zuhri affirmed that their son was exposed to excruciating torture at the hand of Egyptian intelligence officers which led his death.

The Swiss organization also called on Egyptian authorities to stop violating the rights of individuals, and physically assaulting and humiliating prisoners, saying that such practices contradict Egypt’s commitment to the protection of human rights and freedoms.

In the same context, the organization strongly denounced the Egyptian authorities for unjustifiably detaining and torturing Palestinian citizen Ayman Nofal and demanded his immediate release.

It said that Nofal was arrested in January 2008 along with dozens of Palestinian civilians when thousands of Gazans entered Egyptian lands to buy food and vital needs, and though many Palestinians who were detained during the events were released, the Egyptian authorities still refuse to release Nofal.

For their part, the families of Palestinian detainees in Egyptian jails called on president Hosni Mubarak to intervene to get their sons released from jails.

The families said in a news conference held in Shihab news agency in Gaza that what prompted them to hold the conference is the murder of Abu Zhuri in Egyptian jails, affirming that the Egyptian security uses torture to extract information from their sons about the whereabouts of Palestinian fighters and places of manufacturing homemade weapons.

They noted that an Egyptian court issued orders to release their sons from jails, but the Egyptian interior ministry refused to comply, adding that they have evidence and documents indicating that their sons are exposed to severe torture.

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