Agiza does not have the right to challenge the decision, and only Egypt’s President, Hosni Mubarak, can overturn the military court verdict. His sentence was subsequently reduced to fifteen years, apparently upon the intervention of the Swedish authorities. One Swedish official told a Human Rights Watch representative that trials in military courts in Egypt can be fair.184 This claim is all the more disturbing given the fact that the Swedish government itself has criticized military tribunals for violating procedural rights.185 In a radio interview in December 2004, Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson erroneously concluded that Agiza’s trial “evidently was reliable” because al-Zari had been released by the same body. When reminded that al-Zari had never even been to trial, but was released in October 2003, Persson apologized.186 Sweden’s Responsibility The Swedish government continues to claim that if there were any breaches of the assurances, responsibility lies solely with Egypt.187 This claim ignores Sweden’s absolute obligation not to return a person to a place where he or she would be at risk of torture or ill-treatment. In a telling interview on March 4, 2005, Hans Dahlgren, Sweden’s State Secretary for Foreign Affairs stated: Actually, we don’t really know whether these guarantees have been adhered to by the Egyptian government. As you know, there have been accusations that they were broken. First of all, that both men have been subject to maltreatment, of the kind that would not be permissible under the guarantees that were given. However, the government of Egypt itself denies these allegations quite strongly.188 Dahlgren's admission of uncertainty is a stark reminder that diplomatic assurances are inherently unreliable and ineffective safeguards against torture and ill-treatment. In order to prove that no risk of torture or ill-treatment obtains, the Swedish authorities must be 184 In a June 2004 meeting with a representative of Human Rights Watch, one Swedish official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) claimed that “trials in military courts can be fair and trials in civilian courts can be unfair.” Notes on file with Human Rights Watch. 185 The Swedish government’s own human rights reports have noted that special courts provide the Egyptian authorities with an opportunity to circumvent key rights provisions, including access to counsel and the right to appeal, that are provided in civilian courts. See Regeringskansliet Utrikesdepartementet, Mänskliga rättigheter i Egypten 2004, [Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2004 Report on Human Rights in Egypt], copy on file with Human Rights Watch. 186 Swedish Radio, Ekot Program, December 25, 2004. 187 Human Rights Watch meeting with MFA officials, June 2, 2004, noted on file with Human Rights Watch. 188 BBC Radio 4, Today Programme, [What would it mean for terrorist suspects if the government did get its Prevention of Terrorism Bill through parliament?], March 4, 2005, at 8:30 [online] http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/zfriday_20050304.shtml (retrieved March 18, 2005). HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH VOL. 17 NO. 4(D) 62