An investigation by a human rights platform denies the Egyptian authorities' account of prisoner deaths

After the killing of two officers, two policemen, and 4 prisoners sentenced to death in Tora Prison (south of Cairo), questions and doubts about the narrative adopted by the Egyptian regime's media have turned into a definite denial of this narrative, and the prison authorities are accused of committing clear violations against detainees in the building that witnessed the incident, according to an investigation published by the platform Human rights.

On September 23, the Egyptian security authorities announced the killing of 4 prisoners sentenced to death after what they said was an attempt to escape from Tora prison in Cairo, and the killing of two officers and a recruiter while confronting them, and wounding others, in addition to the death of a fourth policeman later of his injury.

Media outlets quoted security sources in the story of the incident that "4 of those sentenced to death and those in death row in Tora prison tried to escape from inside the prison, and the security force confronted them, resulting in the martyrdom of two officers and one policeman, and the death of the four convicts," without giving further Details about the incident.

However, the "We Record" human rights platform published an investigative report in which it revealed what happened inside the high-security prison 992, which is known as "Scorpion Prison 1 ″, which witnessed the events (according to the investigation), especially the violations against young men who were recently sentenced to death, in the period of 23 September to October 6, 2020.

The investigation - which the platform titled "Before the execution ... the last days in Scorpion Prison" - came on the occasion of the International Day Against the Execution, and in it it monitored what it said were "violations" against those who were executed, and refuted the security account of the attempted escape of 4 convicts Execution from prison and killing them, and the subsequent execution of 15 convicts.

The platform identifies itself on its website and accounts as an international human rights platform that collects data and documents violations by interacting with victims, activists and civil society institutions.

The platform clarified that in its investigation, it relied on hearing the testimonies of 5 eyewitnesses separately and comparing them to each other to verify the conformity of the accounts, in addition to matching them with the stories adopted by the Egyptian media to find out the details of the events.

According to these testimonies, the events of last September 23 began when a force arrived at the H4 building in Scorpion Prison consisting of Tora prison warden Tamer Hamed, the prison's investigation chief, Muhammad al-Adly, and 3 other officers, along with a number of police officers with the aim of Relocation of prisoners and transferring them from one ward to another.

According to the investigation, the security force was armed only with sticks (batons), and when it came to transfer the four detainees to the place of the incident, they opened their cell to the force, to be surprised by their attack, shouting phrases declaring their rejection of the insults that occur from the Prisons Authority against the families of the detainees.

An important investigation about two events in the air # Aqrab Prison before the execution of the massacre of 15 young men https://t.co/Y5zWOlpIan

- Haitham Ghoniem (@HaithamGhoniem) October 10, 2020

The investigation confirmed that there was no clash with firearms, but the four detainees used simple metal tools that they were able to “cut some of the wire placed behind the window of their cell in order to restrict them,” indicating that the prison warden and one of the officers (State Security Officer) were the first to flee, while the rest 4 people, two officers and two police officers.

The platform continued in its investigation that a special police force stormed the hangar after that, and fired a gas bomb, then live bullets and birdshot at the four detainees for the purpose of direct physical liquidation.

The investigation did not clarify how the security personnel (the two officers and two police officers) were killed, but it confirmed based on the findings of the lies of the narrator adopted by the Egyptian regime that a fire clash occurred during the attempt to flee, which led to the killing of the four detainees and the police.

A mysterious incident, then torture parties in #Aqrab prison ..

The human rights organization "We

Record

" reveals the scenes of the executions massacre pic.twitter.com/otin89gUGG

- Monitoring Network (@RassdNewsN) October 12, 2020

In the context of confirming the findings of the investigation, the platform said that this could be done by reviewing the CCTV recordings in Ward No. 2 and Ward No. 4 in the "H4" building in Scorpion Prison, which witnessed the events.

According to the investigation, since the incident, the Scorpion prison administration has closed the two cells, and a police force stormed Ward No. 4 and committed more violations against those in it, and tortured them under the supervision of the National Security Agency.

The investigation included details about the execution of 15 of those against whom a final death sentence was issued, and it linked the matter to these events. It also revealed that there was continuous relief from inside Scorpion Prison stating that violations of the right of detainees continued.

The platform called for the formation of an urgent committee to investigate independent human rights organizations and UN experts that would accompany the Public Prosecution to visit the prison and closely review its condition, and the Egyptian Ministry of Interior also demanded that the Egyptian Ministry of Interior hand over the unloading of the prison's surveillance cameras during that period.

# Hashtag

on #International_Day_Anti-Execution_Punishment ... The platform # We_Record Human Rights reveals the last days inside Scorpion Prison before the execution of 15 detainees in

#Egypt #Stop_Executions # Massacre_Executions

"My name is Mary." A freed French hostage declares her conversion to Islam during the reception of # // Macron @ ajmhashtag. .co / hBJC70yufm

- Al Jazeera Mubasher (@ajmubasher) October 10, 2020

In turn, human rights activist Haitham Ghoneim believes that this investigation "presents a coherent story for the first time, and denies the Egyptian regime's narrative, which said that there was a clash and exchange of fire, as it is known that the guards inside the prison are not allowed to carry firearms."

In his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, Ghoneim indicated that the witnesses on whom the platform relied may be individuals from security or affiliated bodies, but it is natural for them not to disclose them to preserve their safety, and perhaps in the event that there are official investigation bodies that these sources agree to testify.

Regarding the killing of the two officers and the two security agents, Ghuneim believes that the investigation has proven that there was a clash of fists and the detainees' use of simple metal weapons, but it is not possible to know whether the Interior Ministry personnel were killed during those clashes, or as a result of suffocation by tear gas and live bullets that were fired by the Special Force, nor This can only be proven via forensic medicine and autopsy.

Human rights activist Haitham Ghoneim (Al-Jazeera)

Ghoneim confirmed that the information provided to him confirms that the executions that followed this incident came as part of revenge.

In turn, human rights researcher Ahmed Al-Attar asserted that what was stated in the investigation of the "We Record" platform was largely consistent with reliable information and its connection through several sources, one of which is a security source, all of which agree to deny the security authorities' narrative.

Al-Attar pointed out during his speech to Al-Jazeera Net that one of the defendants in one of the cases - Mahmoud Junaidi - was prevented from attending his session recently, as he was an eyewitness to the incident, and he also confirmed that the subsequent executions - which took place suddenly - were caused by those who were executed. They were eyewitnesses to what happened on September 23rd.