Alkarama Foundation

Mese'ed Al-Shaf'i, 56, spent nearly a month in solitary confinement at State Security Investigative (SSI) services headquarters in Nasr City, Cairo. During this isolation period he was exposed to torture, while his family and lawyer had no idea of his whereabouts. He eventually reappeared at Al-Makhoum prison on 20 May 2010, where he remains illegally detained in total absence of any legal proceedings.

Mese'ed Al-Shaf'i was first arrested at his home in Nasr City on 19 April 2010 by SSI, in coordination with plain clothed Central Security forces that searched his home and arrested him without a warrant, before taking him to an unknown destination.

Following close to a month's disappearance, Mese'ed Al-Shaf'i's lawyer filed a complaint with Cairo's Public Prosecutor on 15 May 2010 regarding his disappearance. While he would reappear in prison five days later, the lawyer was nonetheless denied access to any information at the time of the complaint.

Despite his reappearance in prison, Alkarama fears that he may still be exposed to torture.

In an effort to raise concerns over the severity of the allegations of torture, Alkarama sent Masa'ad Al-Shafai's case to the Special Rapporteur on Torture, requesting his intervention with the Egyptian authorities.

According to verifiable sources within Egypt, Mese'ed Al-Shaf'i is presently denied proper medical treatment inside prison for wounds left by torture. This rejection also extends itself to judicial proceedings, as since his arrest, he has neither been charged nor tried.

Alkarama has requested that the Special Rapporteur request that the Egyptian authorities carry out a prompt impartial and independent investigation into the allegations of torture against Mese'ed Al-Shaf'i. Alkarama will continue to follow developments regarding his case and send updates to the United Nations human rights special procedures.

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