Case Study: Osama Nasr Mostafa Hassan
Osama Nasr Mostafa Hassan
Egyptian national Osama Nasr Mostafa Hassan was abducted on a street in Milan and allegedly driven to the US air base in Aviano, Italy, interrogated, drugged and taken to the US military base in Ramstein in Germany. From there he was flown to Egypt, where he was allegedly tortured, including with electric shocks. He is reported to have been released in mid-2004, but rearrested shortly afterwards after he made a phone call to his wife. He is believed to remain in custody in an unknown location, although it has been suggested that he may be currently held in the Damanhour prison, outside Alexandria, Egypt. Amnesty International fears that he may be subject to further torture or ill-treatment. On 24 June 2005 an Italian judge ordered the arrest of 13 CIA agents for their alleged involvement in his abduction.
The widespread and systematic practice of torture in Egypt has persisted despite its prohibition under domestic and international law. For well over a decade, specialized UN expert bodies, including the Committee against Torture and international and national human rights organizations have been documenting cases of torture and ill-treatment, including deaths in custody in Egypt.
