Date of reply Latest information 1 September 2006 (it had provided a response on 18 August 2005 - annual report of the Committee, A/61/44). State party’s response The Committee will recall the State party’s submission on follow-up in which it referred inter alia to the enactment of a new Aliens Act and the continual monitoring of the complainant by staff from the Swedish Embassy in Cairo. See annual report of the Committee (A/61/44) for a full account of its submission. On 1 September 2006, the State party provided an update on its monitoring of the complainant. It stated that since its last update, embassy staff had made seven further visits to see Mr. Agiza, the last one on 7 August 2006. Mr. Agiza has been in consistently good spirits and is receiving regular visits in prison from his mother, sometimes together with his brother. He receives regular visits to hospital and his former problems with his back and knee have improved. His spinal cord was X-rayed in February and is said to be satisfactory. His health is said to be stable and he visits Manial Hospital once a week for physiotherapy treatment. The Egyptian National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) visited Mr. Agiza for the second time. The Embassy has not yet received its reports. In this context, he complained about his transport to and from the hospital, which he said was uncomfortable and tiring, particularly during the summer months. He said that he had sent a letter complaining about it to the NCHR. A doctor from the NCHR also visited Mr. Agiza. Mr. Agiza said that there was nothing to complain about since his last visit. However, he claimed that he had been threatened by a security guard that he would be shot if he tried to escape during his trips to the hospital. His mother has also repeatedly complained in letters to the Ministry of the Interior and the security service about his health. The State party notes that there are substantial discrepancies between the picture presented by Mr. Agiza to the Swedish Embassy and that given by his mother. The Egyptian security service denies the assertions that he was threatened. The Embassy’s staff has visited him now on 39 occasions and will continue the visits. 129