Media regulation council calls for investigating MB allegations

CAIRO – 18 May 2017: The Higher Council for Media Regulation (HCMR) called for referring the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood’s claims regarding mistreatment in Egyptian prisons to the general prosecutor for investigation, according to a statement submitted to President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi Thursday.

According to the statement, the prosecutor general has the authority to investigate the claims and take the necessary measures to deal with potential mistakes, as well as guaranteeing medical care without any discrimination, preserving the rights of prisoners and looking into the measures used to deal with the individuals mentioned in the Brotherhood’s accusations.

The International Coalition for Egyptians Abroad (ICEGA), founded by the Brotherhood after the June 30 events, published a statement Wednesday, accusing the judiciary system of turning a blind eye to “illegal physical abuses, systematic torture and slow murder taking place in the prisons by security forces.” The statement referred to “former President Mohamed Morsi’s cry in court and (Deputy Chairman of Wasat Party) Essam Soltan’s blackout as evidence for these abuses.”

The council also called for local and foreign media outlets to accurately examine the reports released by the brotherhood from Qatar and Turkey, especially that “the Egyptian government’s policies in this regard aim at reconciling the necessity to maintain security with the respect of Egyptian citizens’ rights.”

ICEGA’s allegations also accused the government of “utilizing the judiciary system as a suppressing tool to get rid of the opposition, through excessive verdicts of mass execution and unjust trials.”

The complaints were all sent in an official letter to foreign ministers, the EU’s coordinator for foreign affairs and foreign affairs committees of several parliaments, the statement read.

Several leaders and high rank members of the Muslim Brotherhood are currently imprisoned or facing trials for life sentences.

Mohamed Badie, the Brotherhood's supreme guide, and the deposed president, Morsi, have been sentenced to death and prison terms in several cases and are still awaiting a number of trials, along with dozens of Brotherhood members.