Prominent activist reveals details of his Egyptian military interrogation
Prominent activist reveals details of his Egyptian military interrogation
Hossam Bahgat, the renowned human rights activist and investigative journalist, has spoken out over his detention and interrogation at the hands of Egypt's army.
3 min read
Hossam Bahgat after his release on Tuesday afternoon [Twitter]
Egyptian military prosecutors freed investigative journalist and rights activist Hossam Bahgat on Tuesday, a day after he was detained on suspicion of "publishing false information".
He was held after being summoned three days earlier by a letter to his home address.
"I spent three hours at the military intelligence [agency] before being taken through a back door and under armed guard to the military court, after requests to call my family and friends were refused," he said on Tuesday.
Outside the court, Bahgat was held in a vehicle for more than five hours under armed guard, before being admitted to the building and questioned for more than five hours.
After he was finally permitted a phone call, the renowned human rights activist was met in the court by around 25 volunteer lawyers.
Confirming many of his supporters' initial suspisions, Bahgat was questioned over an article he wrote about military officers on trial for allegedly plotting a coup. The military intelligence agency had lodged a complaint against him immediately after its publication.
The story was covered by numerous news outlets, including al-Araby al-Jadeed's Arabic service and the BBC.
"At the end of the interrogation I was informed by the prosecutor that I was accused of spreading false news that could harm national interests," Bahgat said.
After the interrogation, he was handed back to the military intelligence agency to be blindfolded and taken to an unknown location by officers in civilian clothes.
"A doctor came and asked me if I suffered from any illnesses or take any medications. He then asked me to take off my shirt and trousers and examined me," Bahgat said.
His possessions were confiscated and his blindfold was removed before he was briefly placed inside a small, dark cell with a couple of blankets on the floor.
"A guard came to blindfold me again and I was taken to speak to officials who did not reveal their identities, who told me that the matter would be resolved by the morning and they ordered that my holding conditions be improved and that I should be transferred to the 'villa'," Bahgat said.
The "villa" consisted of a "small but clean" room with a bathroom attached, and he was permitted food and drink that was brought to him by laywers. He remained in this room until Tuesday afternoon.
"During this period, no one interrogated me and all my attempts to find out my legal status went unanswered," Bahgat's statement read.
"On Tuesday afternoon, I was blindfolded once again and taken by an armed guard in a car to the military intelligence where I met with two officers, one major-general and one lieutenant-colonel, and I learned for the first time that the prosecution decided to imprison me for questioning, however, the military intelligence decided to release me today."
Before his release, Bahgat signed a written statement that he would adhere to the "legal and security procedures" in publishing information about the armed forces, and that he had not suffered any mistreatment during his detention.
"I do not know the outcome of their investigation," he said. "My lawyers will be following the case."
Bahgat relayed that his interrogators had "insisted" on reminding him that he did not enjoy legal or union protection as afforded to journalists - as he was not registered in the journalists' syndicate.
"While I thank the journalists' syndicate for providing me with lawyers, I call upon them to take immediate steps to provide union protections to any and all who practice he profession," Bahgat said.
"I wish for freedom for thousands of people unjustly imprisoned in Egyptian jails, and I stress my condemnation of criminalising journalistic work and using the penal code to jail journalists and trying civilians in front of military courts."
He was held after being summoned three days earlier by a letter to his home address.
"I spent three hours at the military intelligence [agency] before being taken through a back door and under armed guard to the military court, after requests to call my family and friends were refused," he said on Tuesday.
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At the end of the interrogation I was informed by the prosecutor that I was accused of spreading false news - Hossam Bahgat |
After he was finally permitted a phone call, the renowned human rights activist was met in the court by around 25 volunteer lawyers.
Confirming many of his supporters' initial suspisions, Bahgat was questioned over an article he wrote about military officers on trial for allegedly plotting a coup. The military intelligence agency had lodged a complaint against him immediately after its publication.
The story was covered by numerous news outlets, including al-Araby al-Jadeed's Arabic service and the BBC.
"At the end of the interrogation I was informed by the prosecutor that I was accused of spreading false news that could harm national interests," Bahgat said.
After the interrogation, he was handed back to the military intelligence agency to be blindfolded and taken to an unknown location by officers in civilian clothes.
"A doctor came and asked me if I suffered from any illnesses or take any medications. He then asked me to take off my shirt and trousers and examined me," Bahgat said.
His possessions were confiscated and his blindfold was removed before he was briefly placed inside a small, dark cell with a couple of blankets on the floor.
"A guard came to blindfold me again and I was taken to speak to officials who did not reveal their identities, who told me that the matter would be resolved by the morning and they ordered that my holding conditions be improved and that I should be transferred to the 'villa'," Bahgat said.
The "villa" consisted of a "small but clean" room with a bathroom attached, and he was permitted food and drink that was brought to him by laywers. He remained in this room until Tuesday afternoon.
"During this period, no one interrogated me and all my attempts to find out my legal status went unanswered," Bahgat's statement read.
"On Tuesday afternoon, I was blindfolded once again and taken by an armed guard in a car to the military intelligence where I met with two officers, one major-general and one lieutenant-colonel, and I learned for the first time that the prosecution decided to imprison me for questioning, however, the military intelligence decided to release me today."
Before his release, Bahgat signed a written statement that he would adhere to the "legal and security procedures" in publishing information about the armed forces, and that he had not suffered any mistreatment during his detention.
"I do not know the outcome of their investigation," he said. "My lawyers will be following the case."
Bahgat relayed that his interrogators had "insisted" on reminding him that he did not enjoy legal or union protection as afforded to journalists - as he was not registered in the journalists' syndicate.
"While I thank the journalists' syndicate for providing me with lawyers, I call upon them to take immediate steps to provide union protections to any and all who practice he profession," Bahgat said.
"I wish for freedom for thousands of people unjustly imprisoned in Egyptian jails, and I stress my condemnation of criminalising journalistic work and using the penal code to jail journalists and trying civilians in front of military courts."
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