A local human rights organization is accusing a police officer in Qena Governorate of preventing eight suspects from eating while in custody and forcing them to undress and put their shoes in their mouths.
The newly established Justice and Development Organization for Human Rights, a nonprofit organization working in Upper Egypt, said in a statement Wednesday that the suspects were arrested at Mana checkpoint in north Qena. They were reportedly taken to the city of Qena and then transferred to a prison holding facility without an investigation.
There, a police officer reportedly ordered them to take off their clothes and put their shoes in their mouths. They were also denied food and water, according to the rights group.
The four suspects, Amr al-Bakry, Mostafa Hamdy Nor, Mohamed Bakry, and Othman Ahmed Othman filed a complaint with the Public Prosecution against the police officer and the head of Qena's security department and demanded the Interior Minister open an investigation into the incident, the statement said.
The head of Qena security has reportedly referred the accused officer for investigation.
The organization also reported this week another incident of torture at the Waqf Police Department in north Qena.
