Egypt Watch

Amnesty International and HRW: Egyptian authorities failed to investigate Ayman Hadhoud’s death

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have issued a statement saying that the Egyptian authorities had failed to conduct a thorough, independent, effective, transparent, and impartial investigation into the suspicious death of economic researcher Ayman Hadhoud.

They added that the Public Prosecution Office ignored mounting substantial evidence that the security forces forcibly disappeared, tortured and mistreated him and denied him adequate and timely health care.

The two rights groups interviewed Hudhoud’s family, lawyers, and staff at the Abbasiya Mental Health Hospital in Cairo. “The deeply flawed investigation into the circumstances of Hahoud’s death is another stark reminder of the impunity crisis in Egypt,” said Philip Luther, Director of Research and Advocacy for the Middle East and North Africa Program at Amnesty International.

The two rights groups said that the authorities should immediately extend an invitation to UN rapporteurs to visit Egypt to study cases of torture, ill-treatment, and deaths in custody, including that of Hadhoud. Balkees Jarrah, acting director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch, said that the Egyptian authorities had proven once again that there is almost no justice for victims of abuse by security forces.