“You are here in state security. It does not make a difference who you are or whose son you are!”
That was the reply of Officer Walid Dessouki to Ramez Gehad when the latter told him that it was not within his authority to arrest him since his father worked for one of the sovereign state institutions in Egypt. That reply was the beginning of Ramez’ introduction to the state security intelligence authorities, which has become the highest authority in the State of Egypt.
This how Officer Walid El Dessouki introduced himself and his mission.
Officer Walid El Dessouki had arrested Ramez Gehad from one of the down town cafes in Bab El Louq – Cairo in front of all those present at that time. Walid El Dessouki’s men surrounded all tables in the café. That was on Saturday the 12th of April 2003, around 6 o’clock in the afternoon. In front of everybody Ramez was beaten up during his arrest. He was pushed into a state security intelligence car. They took off his undershirt and used it to blindfold him.
The beating and insult ceremony continued. They ordered him to squeeze himself on the floor of the car in front of the hind seats, under their feet.
At the State Security Intelligence Headquarters in Lazoughli we was detained for 11 days before he was transferred to El Gharbiniat prison in Borg El Arab in Alexandria. During his detention Ramez suffered all forms of psychological and physical torture: blindfolding, tying his hands behind his back, tying him to the wall, suspension, exposure to electric shocks, beatings. At one time he was pushed to the ground face down while they stood on his back and stamped him with their feet and shoes!! He was ordered to take off his clothes and was threatened with rape. Last but not least they threatened to kill his brother and destroy the career of his father. They also threatened to kill him.
The demands of Officer Walid El Dessouki were that Ramez confess regarding a number of names, which the officer wanted to charge of affiliation to the organization of the Revolutionary Socialists. He wanted Ramez to cooperate and become an “agent of the State Security apparatus”. The torture took place in the presence and by the orders and the hands of Officer Walid El Dessouki, who in each torture session ensured that he will force him to confess.
Despite the release of Ramez Gehad on the 7th of June 2003 and his continuous follow up with El Nadim Center since then, yet Walid El Dessouki did not leave him alone. Death threats and threats to harm his family take place on a daily basis. On Sunday the 31st of August 2003 Officer Walid El Dessouki hit Ramez with a car. He looked out of the window car and told him “This time I shall not kill you. I am just showing you that I can kill you if you do not cooperate with me.”
Officer Walid El Dessouki obviously believes that no authority in this country can question him. The arrogance derived from his power and his capacity for systematic torture behind high walls and closed doors within the empire of the State Security Intelligence, made him feel that he is above the law, stronger than the judiciary, and more influential than all citizens and the sovereign state institutions.
Ramez was not the first victim of the aforementioned officer. The name of Walid El Dessouki had been repeatedly mentioned in several of the testimonies of the kidnapped, the tortured and the detained. Among them are Wael Taufik, Amr Abdel Latif, Mahmoud Hassan Mahmoud, Kamal Khalil, Gamal Abdel Fattah, Farid Zahran and Ibrahim El Sahari. Some of them have recognized his voice while he was personally torturing them. Many of them complained to the Public Prosecutor regarding their torture.
As regards the crimes committed against Ramez Gehad, the Hisham Mubarak Law Center has submitted a complaint to the Public Prosecutor on the 18th of September 2003 calling for the appointment of a legal magistrate to investigate those crimes and put an end to the terror lead by Walid El Dessouki against Ramez.
El Nadim for the Psychological Management and Rehabilitation will not stop to support victims of torture and to work towards their prosecution in Egyptian and international courts. We shall continue to work for a state of law that respects its laws, constitution and the international conventions it has endorsed; a state which respects the human rights of its citizens.
22/9/2003
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