Free | 23/6
Posted: 6/4/2012
CAIRO -- Tied to a bed, Nasr al-Sayed Hassan Nasr was tortured for days with electric shocks during his 2010 detention for membership in the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood one of tens of thousands of political prisoners under Hosni Mubarak's 29-year rule.Stripped and handcuffed in a painful position, Nasr described how security agents shocked his genitals, chest and other bodies parts. 'They hadn't asked me a single question at this stage. They seemed to just want me to collapse,' he told Human Rights Watch.And, as with virtually all the abuses under Mubarak's regime, the perpetrators were never brought to justice.The mixed verdict in Mubarak's trial Saturday is a painful reminder that 15 months after the authoritarian leader's ouster in a popular uprising, there has been no move to bring about full accountability for wrongdoing under his regime.Mubarak, 84, and his ex-security chief Habib el-Adly were both convicted of failing to stop the killings of some 900 protesters during last year's uprising and were sentenced to life in prison. However, six top police commanders were acquitted of ordering the killings and chief Judge Ahmed Rifaat criticized the prosecution for failing to provide evidence that police killed protesters.In addition, Mubarak and his two sons were acquitted of corruption charges because the statute of limitations had expired.The verdict has brought a new sense of urgency to bring justice to victims of abuses under Mubarak's regime.On Sunday, lawmakers presented to parliament a 'revolutionary justice' bill drawn up by rights activists that would create special courts to try members of Mubarak's regime for crimes including torture and corruption. Judges on the special courts would be required to have no ties to the old regime, and judicial bodies would be created to collect evidence and testimony.'For me, the big takeaway of yesterday's verdict is that the human rights community s