Cairo, 17 June 2022<\/b><\/p>\n
On 18 June 2022, Circuit 28 of the New Cairo Criminal Court<\/span> will examine the appeal submitted by the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) against the Public Prosecution\u2019s decision that there was no reason to file a criminal lawsuit, in Case No. 738 of 2022 (Second Nasr City Administrative Court), regarding the death of economic researcher Ayman Hodhoud. AFTE hopes the court will order the continuation of investigation into Hadhoud\u2019s death and the circumstances of his detention by the National Security Service before his death.<\/span><\/p>\n This paper includes several basic points that highlight the need to continue the investigation, while the Public Prosecution insists on ending it, ignoring the defence\u2019s requests and the criminal suspicions about Hadhoud\u2019s death.<\/span><\/p>\n On 1 June 2022, the Second Nasr City Prosecution issued a decision stating that there was no reason to file a criminal lawsuit, in Case No. 738 of 2022 (Second Nasr City Administrative Court), regarding Hadhoud\u2019s death. On 19 May 2022, AFTE and EIPR submitted a request to obtain recorded footage from surveillance cameras installed in several places, including the forensic medicine unit at the Mental Health Hospital in Abbasiya, where Hodhoud was detained, and building 15A at Maraashly Street in Zamalek, where Hodhoud was arrested, according to a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Interior.<\/span><\/p>\n These requests came after Hadhoud\u2019s brother, Omar, filed a lawsuit against the director of the Mental Health Hospital in Abbasiya, the head of the forensic medicine unit at the hospital, and anyone involved in the death of his brother Ayman. The Public Prosecution decided to include these requests in the case before it issued its decision that there was no reason to file a criminal lawsuit.<\/span><\/p>\n Ayman Hadhoud was arrested in a building in Zamalek neighborhood on 6 February 2022, according to a statement by the Ministry of Interior. Days later, his family received a summons to go to the National Security headquarters in Al-Amiriya neighborhood, where an officer told them that Hadhoud was detained by the National Security police. Meanwhile, the head of the Reform and Development Party, of which Hodhoud was a member, told Hadhoud\u2019s family that he mediated with the National Security police and received a promise from them that Hadhould would be released soon.<\/span><\/p>\n The family later found out that Hadhoud was held at the Abbasiya Mental Health Hospital. It tried repeatedly to visit him or know the charges levelled against him, but in vain. On 9 April 2022, a police officer called Hadhoud’s brother and asked him to collect his brother\u2019s body from the Abbasiya Mental Health Hospital. Below, AFTE presents several basic points highlighting the need to continue investigation into Hadhoud\u2019s death.<\/span><\/p>\n The Abbasiya Mental Health Hospital bylaw stipulates the admission procedures for patients, including the non-acceptance of cases suffering from organic diseases which a psychiatric hospital may not be able to deal with. On the contrary, Hodhoud was allowed to enter the hospital under the responsibility of the hospital\u2019s director, Hatem Nagy, without conducting a medical examination for him, according to <\/span>media reports<\/span><\/a>. The following points should be taken into account:<\/span><\/p>\n This also contradicts Article 35 of the Care of Mentally Ill Patients Law which stipulates that \u201cin the event of the death of a patient subject to mandatory admission procedures or treatment, the facility management should notify the competent prosecution, the patient\u2019s family, and the Regional Council for Mental Health within twenty-four hours from the date of death. It should also send a detailed report to the Regional Council for Mental Health, attached with a copy of the deceased patient\u2019s file, including all examinations, research and treatment methods that were used\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n In Hadhoud\u2019s case, it is of great importance to have access to the report referred to in the aforementioned article. Hadhoud\u2019s brother, Omar, told the Public Prosecution that he had noticed injuries on his brother’s body when he saw it in the mortuary. This is the same <\/span>conclusion<\/span><\/a> that a forensic expert confirmed to Amnesty International, after he saw photos of the body.<\/span><\/p>\n The Public Prosecution has been seeking since the beginning to prevent the circulation of information about Hadhoud\u2019s death. It ignored the witnesses’ statements that accused both the hospital director and the head of the forensic medicine unit of violating the Care of Mentally Ill Patients Law. Moreover, the Public Prosecution posted a statement on its official Facebook page confirming that there was no criminal suspicion in Hadhoud\u2019s death, and that he died \u2013 according to an unpublished forensic report \u2013 as a result of a chronic heart condition<\/span>. It also denied the defence lawyers access to the case papers.<\/span><\/p>\n What the witnesses said during the investigations should have motivated the prosecution to continue the investigation instead of ending it. On the one hand, the statements of the doctor on duty, who accompanied Hodhoud during the last hours of his life, indicate the possibility of neglect at the Abbasiya Mental Health Hospital. On the other hand, the statements of two doctors from the three-member committee that examined Hadhoud\u2019s psychological condition confirmed that he suffered from \u201cpersonal disorders and schizophrenia, in addition to delusions of grandeur, and a lack of awareness of time and place\u201d. This raises questions about the period of time during which this diagnosis was made, and why Hadhoud was not examined by the third doctor, and did the medical records in the hospital contain this diagnosis?<\/span><\/p>\n In addition to the doctors’ statements, Hadhoud’s brothers said they had been summoned to the National Security headquarters in Al-Amiriya, where they were unofficially interrogated. This requires the Public Prosecution to address questions to the National Security Service about the incident, rather than ignoring these statements completely. The Public Prosecution decided on 7 February to hold Hadhoud in the mental health hospital, but the decision was not implemented until 13 February. So, why did Hadhoud remain in a detention facility, and what is the connection of the National Security Service with his place of detention?<\/span><\/p>\n Article 52 of Law No. 17 of 1983, amended by Law No. 147 of 2019<\/span>, states that lawyers have the right to review case papers and the prosecution and courts should facilitate the lawyers\u2019 access to information. Article 125 of the Criminal Procedures Law and articles 605 and 612 of the Public Prosecution’s instructions stipulate the same.<\/span><\/p>\n The Public Prosecution allowed one of the defence lawyers to read the papers of Hadhoud\u2019s case, including the forensic report, for an hour, but it later rejected repeated requests from the rest of the defence lawyers to review the papers. The prosecution\u2019s move was based on the exception granted to it under Article 605 of the Public Prosecution\u2019s instructions, which states: \u201cunless the investigating prosecutor decides otherwise, in accordance with the interests of the investigation\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n The Public Prosecution refused to allow the lawyers to obtain a copy of the case papers, ignoring Article 84 of the Criminal Procedures Law that enables lawyers to do so<\/span>. The prosecution\u2019s behaviour, therefore, restricted the right to defence, prevented effective legal aid, and contributed to closing the paths the lawyers may take to expose those involved in the disappearance, torture and medical negligence of Hodhoud. The prosecution, moreover, did not allow the photocopying of the forensic report on the causes of Hadhoud\u2019s death.<\/span><\/p>\n The forensic report concluded – according to the Public Prosecution\u2019s statement – that the cause of Hadhoud’s death was a chronic heart condition, and that his body was free of any injuries that indicate that he was exposed to criminal violence. Hadhoud did not suffer from any chronic diseases and he had good health. The photos of his body showed signs of ill-treatment or torture.<\/span><\/p>\n The Forensic Medicine Authority is controlled by the security authorities and it is affiliated to an executive body, namely the Ministry of Justice, thus hindering it from performing its work independently. Independence is a prerequisite for performing the Authority\u2019s tasks, given the technical and decisive nature of its work in cases related to proving exposure to torture, or knowing the causes of death.<\/span><\/p>\n All this indicates that the case was deliberately closed by the Public Prosecution, with the complicity of the Abbasiya Mental Health Hospital and the Forensic Medicine Authority. The Public Prosecution was aware of the requests submitted by Hadhoud\u2019s family to listen to statements of new witnesses and to delegate a three-member committee to review the anatomical report. It also rejected the defence lawyers\u2019 request \u2013 for four times \u2013 to review the case papers. Eventually, the prosecution issued a decision stating that there was no reason to file a criminal lawsuit.<\/span><\/p>\n AFTE stresses the need to continue investigation into Hadhoud\u2019s death. It regards any decisions that support the termination of investigation as aiming primarily to perpetuate impunity and violate human rights systematically. AFTE hopes that the Criminal Court will issue a decision supporting the continuation of investigation into the case.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Cairo, 17 June 2022 On 18 June 2022, Circuit 28 of the New Cairo Criminal Court will examine the appeal submitted by the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) against the Public Prosecution\u2019s decision that there was no reason to file a criminal lawsuit, in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30970,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[985],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-position-papers-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBackground<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
First: Negligence and complicity of the Abbasiya Mental Health Hospital<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n
Second: The Public Prosecution’s involvement in ending the investigation<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
Witnesses’ statements<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
Obtaining a copy of the case papers<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
Third: The forensic report is shrouded in ambiguity<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
Conclusion<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
1-<\/span>\u201cEvery mental health facility must have a special record for mentally ill patients - whatever the reason for entering the facility - provided that it is in two copies that include the data of each patient. The executive regulations of this law shall specify the data and the period that must be stated in the record. The National Council for Mental Health and the regional mental health councils shall have access to the records referred to for the purpose of their work in accordance with the provisions of this law, while maintaining the confidentiality of the information.\u201d<\/span>\r\n2-The official Facebook page of the Egyptian Public Prosecution, \"The Public Prosecution's investigation denies criminal suspicion in the death of Ayman Hadhoud\", 18 April 2022, last visited in June 2022, link: <\/span>https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo.php?fbid=522661695889358&set=pb.100044365962152.-2207520000..&type=3<\/span><\/a>\r\n3-The official Facebook page of the Egyptian Public Prosecution, 11 April 2022, last visited in June 2022, link: <\/span>https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/100044365962152\/posts\/518369599651901\/?d=n<\/span><\/a>\r\n4-Article 52 of Law No. 17 of 1983, amended by Law No. 147 of 2019, states: \u201cLawyers have the right to review the lawsuits and judicial papers and access data related to the lawsuits they take over. All courts, prosecutors, police departments, notary offices and other bodies before which the lawyers exercise their duties shall facilitate their job and allow them to review the papers, obtain data, and attend the investigation with their clients, in accordance with the provisions of the law.<\/span> Lawyers\u2019 requests may not be rejected without a legal justification, and all that is going on in the session of investigation must be recorded in its minutes.\u201d<\/span>\r\n5-Article 605 of the Public Prosecution\u2019s instructions: \u201cLawyers must be allowed to review the investigation on the day prior to the interrogation or confrontation, unless the investigating prosecutor decides otherwise, in accordance with the interests of the investigation. Lawyers should be allowed full access to the investigation file, including all the procedures they indicate, even if they were taken in the absence of the accused. The person accused has the right to review the investigation before being questioned or confronted if he does not have a lawyer. In all cases, the person accused may not be separated from the lawyer thereof during the investigation.\u201d<\/span>\r\n6-<\/span>Article 125 of the Criminal Procedures Law stipulates: \u201cThe lawyer shall be allowed to inspect the investigation on the day prior to interrogation unless the judge decides otherwise. In all cases, the person accused may not be separated from the lawyer thereof during the investigation.\u201d<\/span>\r\n7-<\/span>Article 84 of the Criminal Procedures Law stipulates: \u201cThe defendant, victim, civil rights plaintiff, and responsible for civil rights may, during the investigation, request the issuance of copies of any type of document at their own expense, unless the investigation is conducted in the absence thereof based on a relevant decision.\u201d<\/span><\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"