CAT/C/34/D/233/2003**
Page 13
other inhuman treatment, and that he would not be sentenced to death or executed. The trial
would be monitored by the Swedish embassy in Cairo, and it should be possible to visit the
complainant, even after conviction. Moreover, his family should not be subjected to any kind
of harassment. It was made clear that Sweden found itself in a difficult position, and that
Egypt’s failure to honour the guarantees would impact strongly on other similar European
cases in the future.
4.25 The State party expands on the details of these guarantees. They are omitted from the
text of this decision at the request of the State party, and with the consent of the Committee.
The State party points out that the guarantees are considerably stronger tha n those provided in
Chahal and are couched much more affirmatively, in positive terms of prohibition. The State
party recalls that Egypt is a State party to the Convention, has a constitutional prohibition on
torture and acts of, or orders to torture, are serious felonies under Egyptian criminal law.
4.26 For the State party, it is of interest in assessing the complaint whether the guarantees
have been and are being respected. It recalls the allegations of ill- treatment made by the
complainant’s mother, and subsequently by non- governmental organisations, including the
mother’s description of his physical condition at her first visit on 23 January 2002. The State
party’s Ambassador’s visit the same day immediately followed the mother’s visit, and the
Ambassador observed no signs of physical abuse. As observed, he seemed to speak freely,
made no complaints about torture, and in response to a direct question on systematic abuse in
prison, made no claim to that effect. The State party thus argues the allegation of ill-treatment
on that date has been effectively refuted by its Ambassador’s observations.
4.27 The State party asserts that judging from the numerous reports provided by the
Ambassador, embassy staff and the senior official of its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the
guarantees provided have proved effective vis-à-vis the complainant. Allegations made by
him to the contrary have not been substantiated, and on numerous occasions, he confirmed to
the Swedish Ambassador that he had not been tortured or ill- treated. The allegations of March
2003 were refuted by the Egyptian authorities. The complainant receives the medical care he
requires as a result of his health problems, and legal assistance has been provided to him by
his family. That his lawyer so far may not have taken sufficient action to achieve review of
sentence is of no relevance to the current complaint. In addition, his family visits him
regularly. On the whole, considering the inherent constraints of detention, the complainant
appears to be in fairly good health. The State party concludes that as the allegations of torture
have not been substantiated, they cannot form the basis of the Committee’s assessment of the
case. The State party also points out that the case has been widely reported in nationa l media
and has received international attention. The Egyptian authorities can be assumed to be aware
of this, and are likely to ensure as a result he is not subjected to ill-treatment.
4.28 The State party recalls that in its decision on the complaint of the complainant’s
wife, 12 the Committee appeared to make a prognosis for her in the light of the information
about the effectiveness of the guarantees regarding her husband, the present complainant, to
whom she had linked her case solely on the basis of her relationship to him. The Committee
declared itself “satisfied by the provision of guarantees against abusive treatment” and noted
that they were “regularly monitored by the State party’s authorities in situ.” It went on to
observe that Egypt “is directly bound properly to treat prisoners within its jurisdiction.” In the
12
Ibid.