Teenager Tortured and Imprisoned in Egypt

Aser Mohamed was arrested in 2016 when he was just 14 years old and subjected to torture and enforced disappearance.

Last October he was sentenced to 10 years in prison following an unfair trial with confessions extracted under torture used against him.

 

He is currently imprisoned without family visits or regular alternative means of communication during the Covid-19 pandemic, and with health issues including a chronic allergy that causes respiratory difficulties and puts him at particular risk of severe Covid-19.

Take Action

Call on the Egyptian authorities to quash Aser’s conviction, immediately release him and launch investigations into his enforced disappearance and torture allegations.

Also call on them to ensure that, pending his release, he is provided with means to communicate with his family and lawyers and ask them to take measures to protect the health of all prisoners amid the covid-19 pandemic.

Download Template Letter to send to Egypt’s President.

More Details

Amnesty International has called for the quashing of his sentence given the gross violations of his rights to a fair trial, including the use of confessions extracted under torture as evidence against him.

On 10 March the Egyptian authorities suspended all prison visits as a measure to prevent the spread of Covid-19. They failed to introduce regular alternative means of communication between detainees and their families and lawyers, such as bi-monthly phone calls, as prescribed by Egyptian law. Since the suspension of the visits Wadi al-Natrum prison authorities allowed Aser Mohamed’s family to send him food and a letter twice on 23 April 2020 and 14 May 2020.

Aser’s relatives were last able to visit him on 2 March 2020. His family reported that he was suffering from depression, and that he also suffers from a chronic allergy that causes respiratory difficulties. This condition puts him at particular risk of severe covid- 19 according to the World Health Organisation’s list of vulnerable groups. Well-documented concerns about overcrowded, unhygienic and unsanitary conditions in Egyptian prisons aggravate risks of the spread of covid-19 infections.