Student from Gaza tells story of his torture by Egyptian officers

[ 11/08/2010 - 12:12 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- A Palestinian young man who used the name Talal as his pseudonym revealed shocking details of his detention in Egyptian jails and his exposure to severe torture at the hands of officers in order to extract information from him he actually knows nothing about. Talal told Quds Press in detail about the first moments of his detention at Cairo airport and how he had been subjected in interrogation centers to different forms of torture including beatings and electric shocks to his head and sensitive areas, and burning him with lit cigarettes. "After I arrived at Cairo international airport and gave the security officers the passport, a number of policemen showed up and took me to an inner room at the airport. I remained in detention for several hours during which I was able to contact my family and tell them about the matter," Talal said starting his story. "Later, they confiscated my mobile phone, put a bag on my head, handcuffed me and pushed me inside a car as criminals and thieves are treated." "One or two hours later, I do no know exactly, I found myself in a place hearing people scream and sounds of beating and breaking, then I realized I was in the investigation division of the notorious Egyptian state security apparatus," he explained. The young man asserted that during torture sessions, Egyptian interrogators questioned him about the Palestinian resistance's weapons and activists in Gaza and Syria, but they released him days later after they came to know that he was only a student and had nothing to do with the resistance. He stressed that the torture and maltreatment he was exposed to by Egyptian officers can never be erased from his memory. Talal arrived at his home in Gaza after spending two weeks in the jails of the Egyptian state security. He is a student at a university in the Syrian capital Damascus and came to Gaza to visit his family. The story of Talal was a new example of dozens of sad stories that happened to many Palestinian patients and students who wanted to come back to Gaza, but they fell prey to the Egyptian security well known for its torture practices and cooperation with Israel.