The Ministry of Interior released on Monday video footage in which it said that every police department in Egypt will be provided with a “human rights police officer” who will be assigned to help citizens if they face problems inside a police department.
Through the video, the Ministry called on citizens to ask about the human rights officer if they faced troubles at police departments. It also asserted that the police officer’s main task is law enforcement.
The rights officer is part of the Ministry’s campaign of “Ehna Ma’ak” (We stand with you) that was launched recently by the Ministry during the celebration of the police’s 66th anniversary.
Recently, the Secretary-General of the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR), Alaa Shalaby, called for establishing a ministry for human rights with the task of dealing with all matters pertaining to this issue.
He added in statements released in September 2017 that this ministry would also be tasked with responding to reports from human rights organizations, whether it is the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) or local and international organizations.
At that time, a report by Human Rights Watch drew harsh criticism from several official and civil society groups working in Egypt.
The report alleged that the interior ministry has developed an “assembly line” of abuse to collect information and prepare often fabricated cases.
Officers beat suspects and used electrical shocks and put them in strenuous positions with “almost total impunity”, the HRW report says.
Egypt’s government responded to the report through different ministries and bodies saying that the report aimed to tarnish the image of Egypt.
