FINAL ENGLISH EGYPT CONSCRIPT SCRIPT
22/05/16 – As recorded
With Fact Check
|
Picture reference
/ Notes
in Red Online
highlight on documents |
Voiceover |
Sync (interview) |
Opening montage: CSF in action
January 2011 |
COMM Egypt
2011 in the throes of a revolution. And this is Egypt’s Central Security
Forces, or CSF, at work trying to protect the government of President Hosni
Mubarak. |
|
|
2 |
Khaled Fahmy describes founding of CSF to bring urban protesters
under control. |
COMM The
CSF is an arm of the national police and one of the Egyptian Government’s
main tools to maintain order. |
|
3 |
|
COMM But
behind this violence lies another story. Abuse of the CSF’s recruits
by their own officers. |
|
Mostafa walking
through prison |
COMM Mostafa
ElMarsafawy., a reporter working for BBC Arabic, has spent two years
investigating suicides and suspicious deaths of CSF conscripts. |
|
|
Docs / CSF
interviewee / recon |
COMM He has
obtained exclusive access to documents and testimony and interviewed families
as well as former senior policemen. |
|
|
6 |
|
COMM The
investigation reveals serious abuse and murder of CSF conscripts. There is also evidence of official cover
up by the authorities. |
|
7 |
TITLE: DEATH IN SERVICE |
|
|
8 |
New material of
Mostafa in office pinning up photos |
COMM Mostafa
ElMarsafawy has spent more than two years investigating
13 cases of conscript deaths, dating back to 2008. Of those thirteen deaths, the authorities classified ten as
suicides. |
|
9 |
Photo of Mohammed
Diab Diab case was widely reported in the Egyptian media at the time
but MM doesn’t have documents. |
COMM Many
of these cases were closed quickly after only brief investigations. Like
Mohammed Diab, a young recruit who - according to the Ministry of Interior -
allegedly shot himself in the head.
He gave no warning and left no suicide note. The official investigation lasted one week. |
|
10 |
Camera shifts to
photo of Hassan Hassan Yehia died in November 2013. His death was announced as a hanging to local media in el Minya
by head of security the CSF sector.
See this link to the story of his death, especially the third
paragraph. http://www.almasryalyoum.com/news/details/346823 |
COMM Soon
afterwards the Ministry of Interior announced another conscript suicide –
from the same city - el Minya. The
victim was 20 year-old Hassan Yehia. Mostafa
travelled to visit the Yehia family at their home, 3 hours south of Cairo. Hassan
was serving at the el Minya camp not far from his home. |
|
11 |
Mostafa
travelling These figures come from the interview with Brig. Khaled Okasha, a
former CSF commander. |
COMM Central
Security Forces are spread across Egypt.
They include between 5-7,000 commanders, officers and trainers. And at any one time there are between
100-150,000 conscripts, who must complete a three-year national service. |
|
12 |
Mostafa gets out
of car and shakes hands |
COMM When
Mostafa arrived at Hassan Yehia’s home, the family was still deep in
mourning. |
|
13 |
Photos, Mostafa
with family |
COMM Hassan
chose to leave high school early to pursue his dream of becoming a driver.
But first he had to finish his national service, and that took him away from
his family. |
|
14 |
|
|
MAHAD HAMED
MOHAMMAD, HASSAN’S COUSIN: He hadn’t been at
my sister’s wedding and he was disappointed.
He said, “ I have to attend my cousin’s wedding. I keep missing my
family events.” My aunt told him “You’ll go to prison”. He said he didn’t care. “I will be there.” Because Hassan loved
the whole family, and they loved him. |
15 |
Wedding video |
COMM Hassan
did go to his cousin’s wedding. |
|
16 |
Photo According to Mostafa, the sector head of security for the Ministry
of Interior called local journalists to announce the death. This is their normal modus operandi. |
COMM 36
hours after he was filmed dancing, the Ministry of Interior announced that
he’d committed suicide at his CSF camp. |
|
17 |
DOCUMENTS/ RECON Mostafa was given copies of the documents by a court official but
does not want this reported. We
cannot call these secret documents, according to Mostafa, as they are public
documents. But they are very
difficult to obtain. |
COMM According
to prosecution documents we obtained, Hassan was punished for returning late
to his CSF camp. He was put in
prison. |
|
18 |
RECON This document in the film to confirm the argument and move to
isolation cell. Testimony from guard
during investigation. |
COMM After
an argument broke out with other inmates he was put in an isolation
cell. Four hours later, a guard
found him allegedly hanged. |
|
19 |
|
|
MOTHER At 3am I woke
up. His father answered the
phone. “Are you Hassan’s
father?” He said “yes.” They said, “I are sorry for your
loss.” They said it was Hassan. |
20 |
|
|
MOTHER They
said he hanged himself, that he was psychologically ill. He was engaged to his cousin. He wanted to
get married and be happy as soon as possible. I’d say, “Of course, when God wills it.” And when God willed it, they killed
him. It wasn’t God who did it. |
21 |
Family The coroner did not conclude it was a suicide, only that it was
death by hanging. The investigator
for the public prosecution answered a specific question from Mostafa during
his research to say that there was no suspected criminal in this case and
that the case was “saved” or “archived”, meaning closed. The family tried to re-open the case but
they were told it was closed. There is no document that specifically says it was a suicide. Only the forensic report calling it death
by hanging. |
COMM The
family say they don’t understand why such a happy young man would kill
himself. The public prosecutor,
however, concluded it was a suicide. |
|
22 |
RECON |
COMM The
last man to see Hassan alive was the same man who handcuffed him in solitary
confinement, and the same man who found his body hanging from a pipe four
hours later. In his testimony, this
guard said: |
|
23 |
Document Interview with police officer who found Yehia. We have this. |
|
V/O GUARD: He
had hanged himself by the neck from the shower pipe. I tried to get him down. I cut the cord
and brought him down. |
24 |
|
|
MOTHER: How did he get a
cord into the prison cell? Anyone who
goes into prison gets searched. |
25 |
|
|
|
26 |
RECON |
COMM It’s
not known what happened inside the isolation cell. But there was an eyewitness to events just before Hassan
entered the cell: A conscript who was
on duty in a watchtower. His
testimony to the public prosecutor offers a clue as to what happened that
night. |
|
27 |
Testimony from conscript on duty to public prosecutor. We have
this. |
|
EYEWITNESS VO I
was on guard duty on the roof of the military prison. I heard a noise. I looked down and saw three police
officers holding Hassan and hitting him in the face. Then they put him in
solitary confinement. That was all I
saw. |
28 |
Photo of Hassan
and family Mostafa says the father
reported to the family that he saw a blue bruise on his back. But this was not noted in the forensic
report, according to Mostafa. |
COMM Hassan’s
family say they were only allowed to see the body for ten minutes before the
autopsy and burial. But that was long
enough to find another clue. Hassan’s
cousin is a medical student. |
|
31 |
|
|
MAHA HAMED
MOHAMMAD, COUSIN I said, “Father,
what did you see on Hassan’s body? He said, “nothing.” I asked if there was any bruising in a
specific place? He said “Just a blue patch on his back.” I said, ”That
means Hassan died on his back.” Any
medical student knows that when someone dies he gets something called
hypostasis, which is what happens to the first place the body makes contact
with the ground. This means Hassan
died on his back not by hanging. |
32 |
Documents. Line highlights relevant bit. Medical report from forensic pathologist. We have this. Date on it is 9/02/2014. |
COMM The
family waited for the pathologist’s report for 4 months. When it came, they were disappointed. It described the cause of death as - “A severe neck injury due to
the pressure on its circumference by a flexible object such as a rope, an
electric cord or something similar.” The
report concluded that - “Death was caused by asphyxia
due to pressure on the neck circumference, could happen by hanging.” |
|
33 |
|
|
MAHMOUD YEHIA, FATHER: I just want my
son’s rights. Everything that was
done at Minya military prison is fabricated and not the truth. |
34 |
RECON Specifically
we are talking about the missing cord, a vital piece of evidence. The
prosecution and pathologist’s documents do not include any details of the
cord and do not describe it. Mostafa
met the forensic doctor who said he did not see the cord and the prosecution
did not send it to him. Mostafa asked
the prosecution about the cord and was told they did not have it and it was
not an important piece of evidence. |
COMM Could
Hassan’s suicide really be a fabrication as the family claims? Clearly
the pathologist’s report didn’t provide vital details. He
didn’t identify Hassan’s position when he died. But
more importantly, the pathologist couldn’t examine the cord with which Hassan
allegedly hanged himself because this vital piece of evidence had disappeared
from the prison cell. |
|
35 |
Mostafa crosses
the road in Cairo. |
COMM Mostafa
decided to talk
to Fakhri Saleh, former head of Egypt’s forensic service, for an expert view
on the evidence. |
|
36 |
|
|
FAKHRI SALEH,
FORMER NATIONAL HEAD OF FORENSIC MEDICINE Saleh: Didn’t
register or find the cord. MM: They examined
the scene but didn’t mention the cord was missing. Saleh: They must
state the way the cord was hanging! Saleh: Fine he
cut the cord, but where is the part that was around his neck? MM: No one
recorded it. Saleh: He cannot confirm a suicide. Suicide involves so many things. The intention, the reasons, a suicide
letter, and all evidence should suggest a suicide before I say it’s a
suicide. |
37 |
Media report |
COMM According
to local news websites, Hassan’s death triggered an open protest by
conscripts in the streets of el Minya.
The CSF sent representatives to speak to the family. |
|
|
|
MAHMOUD YEHIA, FATHER: Some officers and
soldiers came and said they wanted to hold a military funeral for him. I said “No, how can you say he hanged
himself, and then want to make a military funeral for him?” That doesn’t add up. |
|
39 |
Mostafa returns
to Cairo on train Not the Ministry of Interior that made this ruling, as previously
written. Also, the investigation was closed in March 2014 and registered as
suicide as there was no suspected criminal in the case. The family tried to appeal to the Attorney
General to have the case reopened but their appeal was rejected. |
COMM The
Public Prosecution closed the Yehia case - ruling it a suicide. But
why would Hassan, a seemingly happy young man, commit suicide just hours
after dancing and so soon after his own engagement? Where did the cord go?
Why was the investigation closed? We
repeatedly asked the Ministry of Interior for an interview but there was no
reply. |
|
40 |
|
|
|
41 |
Report talks about fitness of recruits and its role in protecting
the country. Khaled Fahmy also speaks
in his interview about the CSF doing the opposite of what it claims to do ie.
not protecting democratic rights but protecting the interests of the regime. |
COMM This
is how the CSF wants you to see them.
In this television report, its conscripts are a unified, fit force
safeguarding national security, upholding the law, and protecting the
citizenry. |
|
42 |
|
|
|
43 |
Shots of CSF in
Tahrir Aston January 2011 Khaled Fahmy described this in his interview. |
COMM But
some of those who have seen the CSF in action, question its role as a
protector of the people. One
person who found himself face to face with them during the January 2011
revolution was Khaled Fahmy – now a Visiting Professor in modern
middle-eastern history currently at Harvard University. |
|
44 |
|
|
KHALED FAHMY These are not
forces whose aim is to protect the peaceful march of demonstrators and to
allow them to express their ideas to their fellow citizens in a peaceful and
organised way. Rather it is the exact opposite. It is how to use large numbers of these troops to quash any
possibility of peaceful congregation of citizens for the purposes of
expressing their opinion. |
45 |
1967 War |
COMM The
CSF was born of a crisis. In the
wake of the Six Day War in 1967, Egypt was in turmoil. There was a sense of disappointment in
the wartime leadership. |
|
46 |
Nasser Students |
COMM President
Gamal Abdel Nasser tried to respond, but it wasn’t enough for students at
Cairo University who – in 1968 – spilled into the streets to protest against
what they saw as incompetence and a lack of accountability. |
|
47 |
|
|
KHALED FAHMY It was something
that caught the regime by surprise.
How do I deal with these large numbers? A decision was taken that the police as they exist need to be
reformed and the ministry of the interior has to be given the right to
conscript Egyptian youth into a newly formed urban riot force. A force to deal with urban riots. |
48 |
We have a copy of this article. |
COMM But
who makes up this force? Under
article 86 of the constitution, every Egyptian male aged 18 has a duty to do
national service. |
|
49 |
|
|
|
49A |
Script change by Mostafa for accuracy. |
COMM Based
on Egypt’s recruitment law, the armed forces take the educated cream of the
conscripts - usually for 12 months to 3 years. Most of those without degrees or high school qualifications go
to the CSF. They serve for three
years, no more no less. |
|
50 |
|
|
KHALED FAHMY You have young
men who are very badly educated, some of them are completely illiterate. They are very poor. |
51 |
Fresh recruits |
|
|
52 |
|
|
KHALED FAHMY The Central
Security Forces are little above serfs.
Forced labour. I wouldn’t say
slaves, they’re not slaves, but they are treated in a very bad way. Their mission is very difficult,
ethically, morally, politically, legally, it is a very difficult mission
because they are asked to fight fellow Egyptians. |
53 |
Mostafa with list
of suicides. This
section re-instated after Mary’s suggestion we remove it, as there is enough
time to accommodate it. |
COMM Poor
conditions and unpleasant duties are not evidence of abuse. But they do suggest a lack of respect and
duty of care for conscripts. We
wanted to dig deeper into evidence that the Ministry of Interior was covering
up the truth about some conscript suicides. |
|
54 |
HASSAN AL-SHARKAWI STORY |
|
|
55 |
|
COMM Mostafa
also investigated another case
classified as suicide that happened a year before Hassan Yehia died. |
|
58 |
Photo and dates |
COMM Hassan
al-Sharqawi was a 23-year old recruit serving in a camp at Luxor, 400 miles
south of Cairo. |
|
59 |
Driving to
village Population is best estimate by Mostafa. |
COMM His
family still lives nearby in al Qorna, a town of 50,000 across the Nile from
Luxor. |
|
60 |
Marsafarwy
arriving at home of Hassan. |
COMM Like
most recruits, al-Sharqawi came from a poor, uneducated family. |
|
61 |
|
|
ALI AL-SHARQAWI FATHER He was a
gardener. When he was called in for
the army, they asked him what he did for a living. He said he was a gardener, so that’s what they assigned him to.
|
62 |
|
|
|
63 |
Photo of Hassan
in garden. He had 205 days left. |
COMM: Hassan
al-Sharqawi had 6 months of service left when he started to complain to his
family that he had trouble with a certain officer. |
|
64 |
Check that we are spelling Aboubakr consistently in subtitles. Or
Abou Bakr. |
|
HANI AL-SHARQAWI BROTHER He said an
officer called Mahmoud Aboubakr Orabi wanted him to work as a servant for
him. He picked on him and made him do his laundry, run personal errands like fetching cigarettes,
cleaning the Officer’s quarters. He wants him to be his servant. |
65 |
|
COMM One of
Hassan’s jobs was to clean the officer’s private rooms. |
|
66 |
|
|
|
67 |
RECON Doc 3. We have report of
this theft but Eva thought it looked dodgy. |
COMM In the
official version of events, Capt. Orabi questioned Hassan about 300 Egyptian
pounds that had allegedly been stolen from an officer’s room. |
|
68 |
RECON |
COMM And
then a shot was fired. |
|
69 |
|
|
BROTHER HANI
AL-SHARKAWI, In Ramadan,
August 2012, We got a call from fellow conscripts of my brother Hassan. They
said, “Your brother was shot”. I
said, “What happened? Was he on
assignment and got shot on duty? Was
he cleaning a weapon and got shot by mistake? They said “No, he had a problem with an officer.” |
70 |
RECON of
al-Sharqawi’s body on the floor. Document 1a |
COMM The
family were told by the authorities
that Hassan grabbed the pistol from Capt. Orabi’s locker and shot himself. |
|
71 |
Hospital ext. |
COMM: Hassan
was in a coma when he arrived at Luxor Hospital. The bullet was lodged in his
brain. |
|
72 |
|
|
|
73 |
Short video was shot on phone of a family member. Mostafa was
shown it on Hani’s phone. |
COMM Two
month later, after several bouts of surgery, Hassan woke up. His family made a short video at his
bedside in Luxor hospital. He couldn’t
move much or speak. But he was able
to understand and respond to questions. |
|
|
|
SHAHATA ABDEL
SHAFI MATERNAL UNCLE: I said, “Hassan was it the officer who shot
you? We don’t want to wrongfully
accuse him. Or was it you? Don’t be ashamed. He’d gesture “No” and
he’d hold me. |
|
75 |
Mostafa says no one came according to prosecutor in Luxor, lawyer
for family and family. |
COMM The
family waited for prosecutors to interview Hassan but no one came. This video is their attempt to record
Hassan’s testimony, even though he was severely traumatised and unable to
speak. |
|
76 |
|
|
VIDEO UPSOT Where are you
hurt? Did the officer
put the pistol in your mouth? |
77 |
Mostafa watching
video his computer. He was shot 10 August 2012 and died October 23. |
COMM: Hassan’s
family says that the gesture to his shoulders refers to an officer’s rank as
indicated on his epaulette. He then
points to his mouth, which the family claim shows where the officer put the
gun. Hassan
al-Sharqawi survived for 72 days. |
|
78 |
|
|
UNCLE What led to his
death was that they took the bullet out.
They had operated on him but it wasn’t successful. |
79 |
More VIDEO slo-mo |
COMM The
family insists that while Hassan remained alive, no one from the CSF, the
Ministry of Interior or the Prosecution Service came to his bedside to gather
his testimony. This video is the only
testimony that Hassan could give. |
|
80 |
Mostafa in car
for transition to lawyer Public Prosecution made ruling, not the Ministry of Interior. Add letter from BBC to Ministry of Justice and Prosecution Service |
COMM Without
ever seeing the video, the Public Prosecution ruled his death a suicide and
closed the case. We
wrote to the Public Prosecution requesting an interview but they did not
respond. |
|
81 |
Lawyer set up |
COMM Mohammed
Nubi is a lawyer with the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. He took on this case on behalf of the al
Sharqawi family four months after Hassan’s death. |
|
82 |
|
|
MOHAMMED NUBI,
LAWYER For me it was
negligence on the part of the public prosecution. They were supposed to follow up on the medical condition of the
victim. On learning of his physical
condition, that he was now capable of giving information as yes or no
answers, they were supposed to go and see him immediately. |
83 |
DOCUMENTS Mostafa says he checked with the prosecution office in Luxor, the
family and the lawyer to confirm that Hassan was not visited by anyone in
authority. |
COMM During
the investigation, the public prosecution asked repeatedly about the
conscript’s medical state and wanted to be kept informed of his progress.
But the Ministry of Interior maintained that Hassan wasn’t in a state to be
interviewed. |
|
84 |
Family with
documents on kitchen floor CSF Sector Commander Saleh.
Right of reply? |
COMM So
what evidence was examined before the case was closed? The family has kept all the documents and
video evidence. They’re concerned the
Sector Commander, General Imad Saleh, contaminated the crime scene before the
public prosecutor arrived. |
|
85 |
RECON of Sector
Commander putting pistol into a clear plastic bag after handling it. See Doc 2. Pistol in
custody of Gen. Saleh. |
COMM According
to the Police records, General Saleh walked into the room where Hassan lay
and, ignoring normal procedure, he handled and took into custody vital pieces
of evidence. Most importantly the
pistol. |
|
86 |
|
|
LAWYER MOHAMMED
NUBI: The general
prosecution, as soon as they are aware of the incident, are supposed to issue
a decision declaring this bunk room, which is the place of the incident, as a
crime scene. No one is allowed to
mess with the evidence. These are
basic things. But he had
already entered. He had already
entered. The general
prosecution arrived 12 hours later. They arrived 12
hours later. There’s no report of fingerprints on the gun. And that no one knows what state or
condition the crime scene was in right after the crime took place. |
87 |
RECON Two men standing
face to face in bunk room. |
COMM As the
fingerprints on the pistol could not be identified, it was impossible to
determine who last use it. Was it
Hassan or Capt. Orabi? |
|
88 |
Photo of Hassan |
COMM: The
family alleges that the authorities did everything they could to make the
case go away, including pressuring them and other witnesses. |
|
89 |
|
|
FATHER My son’s
colleagues came saying “Hassan is our brother. No one laid a hand on your son except Orabi. We can go to the prosecution with
you. We can go with you everywhere
and protest.” The Sector Commander
called them and threatened them saying “If you testify for this conscript,
I’ll make your life in the sector hell.” |
90 |
|
|
HANI AL-SHARQAWI, BROTHER: After Hassan
died, I got a phone call from a number I didn’t
know. He said “Are you the brother of conscript Hassan who died?” I said yes. He said “As for the officer you are not going to talk about
him. If you want money or anything, I
can reconcile. But you’re not going
to pursue this.” |
91 |
|
|
FATHER They threatened
me when I went to get my boy’s national ID card. They told me, “Did you file a case that your son was shot by
the officer?” I said, “Yes, the officer shot him.” They gave me my
son’s clothes and threatened me and told me to go away. |
|
|
|
Mother
upsot: These are Hassan’s clothes. |
|
|
BREAK |
|
92 |
Mostafa
travelling shots, arriving back in Cairo. In his office
looking at documents. Orabi deposition was on 24 July 2013 |
COMM Captain
Orabi wasn’t interviewed by the prosecution service until 10 months after the
shooting of Hassan al-Sharqawi. |
|
93 |
|
COMM When
he finally did give his version he said this: |
|
94 |
Orabi testimony to investigation |
|
ORABI VOICE OVER The
recruit in question grabbed my personal sidearm from my cabinet and kept
saying, “I’m going to kill myself.”
He cocked the pistol and put it in his mouth. I couldn’t stop him because he did it in a
flash. The shot was fired from the
pistol into his mouth. |
95 |
Mostafa gets into
car, travels to Orabi’s camp. Blur the car license plate. |
COMM We put
in a request to talk to Captain Orabi through the Ministry of Interior but
they did not reply. So Mostafa
decided to try and find him himself. |
|
96 |
In car /camp gate |
COMM Capt.
Orabi was based at the Central Security Camp in Marg City in Cairo. But when Mostafa got there, he was told
he’d been transferred to Sinai.
However he found a phone number for the Officer and called. |
|
97 |
In car |
|
UPSOT MOSTAFA It’s been two
years and I have so many details that I want to share with you. And then you can tell me “yes I would like
to respond, or no I don’t want to respond to this”. Think about it a
bit and then I can talk again. Please be assured that I’m doing this as part
of job. |
98 |
Mostafa on phone
at office |
COMM That
was the last time we were able to speak to Captain Orabi. He asked Mostafa to call back two days
later but since then has never answered his phone. |
|
99 |
|
COMM We
again asked the Ministry of Interior for an interview, but there was no
response. |
|
|
|
COMM The
CSF rarely grants access to the press.
Filming in their bases is forbidden, and any reporting is very
restricted. That makes it difficult
to get a full picture of life within the CSF. |
|
99 |
|
|
|
100 |
Photos from the photographer with his consent and previously
published online without blurring of faces. Mostafa knows the photographer and confirmed the details of the
event. |
COMM But
there are occasional glimpses into the treatment some conscripts endure. . We
obtained these photographs of 22 conscripts from a camp in Kafreshiekh city,
admitted to hospital with burns and exhaustion. They
had allegedly been ordered to crawl on the hot sand for prolonged periods. |
|
101 |
http://www.shorouknews.com/news/view.aspx?cdate=20072012&id=fc68ec86-6656-4528-8801-39602948a980 Story about officer facing internal inquiry. |
COMM The
officer concerned was reportedly subject to internal disciplinary action but
the details have never been made public. The
abuse of CSF conscripts has often been a source of serious disorder in Egypt. |
|
102 |
Sound up at beginning of protest Neither of the two youtube cases refer to cases in our
investigation. |
COMM In May
2012, hundreds of conscripts protested against the murder of one of their
colleagues by an officer. The
conscripts succeeded in blocking the road heading east from Cairo to Ismailia
for 3 hours. |
|
103 |
|
|
UPSOT Guys! What happened? An officer shot a
soldier with a pistol. An officer got a
pistol out and shot a soldier |
104 |
|
COMM One
year before that, a protest broke out in Alexandria after an officer
assaulted a conscript. |
UPSOT “Try him, try
him” |
105 |
|
COMM But
the most famous protests took place in 1986, when a rumour took hold in CSF
camps that their service period would be extended from 3 to 4 years. |
|
106 |
|
|
KHALED FAHMY The conscripts
just could not take this. They took
to the streets. They caused havoc on
the streets of Cairo and Giza, mostly on fancy five star hotels and other
touristic establishments close to the pyramids. |
107 |
|
COMM This
was a full-blown mutiny. For one day,
thousands of CSF conscripts looted and burnt their way through Egypt’s
cities. Terrified citizens locked
themselves in their homes. |
|
108 |
|
|
KHALED FAHMY And the regime
for a couple of days was teetering on collapse. I remember this distinctly because I was serving but in the
army. And I remember the state of emergency that was declared inside the army
because the army was deployed. |
109 |
|
COMM The
president, Hosni Mubarak was forced to intervene in person. |
|
110 |
|
|
HOSNI MUBARAK SYNC A deranged
minority started acts of violence, rioting and destruction, which is
considered a stab in the back to the journey of this struggling people. |
111 |
|
|
|
112 |
|
|
HOSNI MUBARAK A large number of
the individuals who led the riots have been arrested and the relevant
prosecution has started interrogation. |
113 |
There was a protest in Fayoum camp in 2015, according to Mostafa
so tweaked comm. Marc suggested “latest”? |
COMM One of
the most recent protests by conscripts was in Arish, in North East Sinai, on
September 5th, 2014 after another conscript death. This time it was blamed not on suicide,
but heatstroke. The
victim was 20 year-old Ahmed Hosni Ali. |
|
114 |
Ahmed Hosni Story Photo with dates of birth and death |
|
|
115 |
RECON See documents Hosni1 and Hosni2.
These contain testimony from pathologist and conscripts who were
there. |
COMM On the
morning of September 4, 2014, Ahmed Hosni collapsed from exhaustion after
four hours of training. According to
eyewitness testimony from another conscript, the officer in charge, Mohammed
Hosny - no relation -began kicking Ahmed.
When Ahmed didn’t wake up, the officer took a stick and allegedly beat
him to death. |
|
116 |
Newscast We have waiting claim for al hayat footage. Najlaa sent email to head manager. |
COMM The
story was spreading. So the Ministry
of Interior fielded Major Abdelfatteh Osman to rebut the story on television. |
|
117 |
TV Archive Major Abdelfatteh
Osman Spokesman for CSF The story was already out in the media before this interview took
place. |
|
UPSOT News Anchor: Welcome to the
show. I have to start with the
officer incident. He’s accused of
torturing a conscript in Northern Sinai, torturing him to death. How did that happen? What information do
you have? Major Osman: I have my
reservations about the word or the way the media is discussing the
incident. What happened in reality is
that during the morning line-up one of the conscripts was taken by fatigue, a
low pressure, and he collapsed. The
officer tried to revive him and transport him to
a hospital, but he passed away. The
relationship between officers and their conscripts in all Central Security
sectors is one that is mainly friendly. Very strong ties. This kind of abusive behaviour does not
exist whether it’s officers or others. |
118 |
Mostafa in car Travelling shots |
COMM Despite
the denials, there were witnesses.
This was an alleged manslaughter so the case would have to go to
court. Mostafa wanted to see if the
judiciary would shed some light on the inner workings of the CSF. |
|
119 |
Mostafa walking
through village, finds house. |
COMM Ahmed
was serving in northern Sinai. But
his family home is in Ismailia, about 70 miles northeast of Cairo. |
|
120 |
Meets family of
Ahmed Hosni. |
COMM Ahmed’s
mother and brother share the family home. |
|
121 |
|
|
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122 |
Brother setup |
COMM Sayid
Hosni heard a lot of disturbing stories about the conditions his brother
faced. He says he believes them
because he had been a conscript in Northern Sinai himself. |
|
123 |
Brother iv |
|
BROTHER Mostafa: You know
what it’s like there. You know what
the treatment is. Sayid: It’s a
filthy treatment. There’s no humane treatment. We are slaves in there.
For who? For the officers above us.
If you’re a conscript entering the army, you leave your dignity
outside. |
124 |
|
COMM Ahmed
only served 4 months before he died.
The incident occurred at 6am, his family heard of the death within
hours. From the outset they say they
found the official explanation absurd. |
|
125 |
|
|
BUTHAINA SHAHATA MOTHER They said he
suffered heat stroke. What heat
stroke at dawn? What heat stroke would crack his head open, cut his eyebrow,
break his tooth? Is there a heat
stroke at dawn? Why is he running
from his doing? Why is he lying? |
126 |
|
COMM The
authorities tried to portray Ahmed’s death as an accident, but away from the
TV cameras, Ahmed’s family say fellow soldiers were agitated and the
commanders were forced to take action to prevent a riot. |
|
127 |
|
|
BROTHER The camp
commander of put the officer in a prison cell and made the other officers secure
it. Then he called the central
security forces in Arish and they came to investigate. At 7am he was
taken to the morgue for the autopsy. |
128 |
Mostafa with
Sayid on sofa looking at documents Report issued 10/9/14.
Final report on 26/11/14. |
COMM The
family have a copy of the forensic report from the autopsy. |
UPSOT |
129 |
RECON Stick
attack and boot kicks to chest Documents Hosni1 but does it say this about boots? |
COMM The
pathologist concluded that Ahmed suffered a vicious beating to his head and
back with a stick. He also found his
chest bore bruises. |
|
130 |
Brother |
COMM Ahmed’s
mother says it comes down to the arrogance of officers. |
|
132 |
|
|
MOTHER SYNC Because he’s an
officer and has a rank so he steps on poor people like us? And if it was his son would he do
that? No state official would accept
that they would receive their son back like that as a dead body. |
133 |
Document –
pathologist report |
COMM Given
the conclusion of the Forensic Pathologist, this case had to be heard in the
civil courts. In Egypt almost all
cases involving manslaughter or murder are held in public. |
|
134 |
Mother and corn Officers from the camp and members of the Officer’s family tried
more than once. The last effort was
during the last week of February, according to Mostafa – members of the
family of Mohammed Hosny offered money.
|
COMM However,
Ahmed’s family say they were approached many times by other CSF Officers and
relatives of Mohammed Hosny who were offering blood money if they dropped the
case. |
|
135 |
|
|
MOTHER I don’t want
money from them. I don’t want
anything from them. I want this
officer to be prosecuted in public, not secretly. I want him to go to court in public. Why not? They are
bargaining with money. In their own
family, would they take money? |
136 |
|
|
SAYID If I take his
money, he will have his job back next thing in the morning. And what happened to my brother will
happen again to another one, and another and another. This is what will happen if he keeps his
job and the Ministry of the Interior does not punish him. He is inhumane and has no mercy. Just one person can make the entire
country dirty. |
137 |
RECON We do no have copy of the
verdict but Mostafa spoke with lawyers for both accused and victim’s
family. Both spoke about the verdict
in their interviews. |
COMM Mohammed
Hosny, was investigated, tried and found guilty of murder, using a stick as a
weapon and abuse of authority. The
court sentenced him in absentia to five years in prison but as a serving
officer, he remained free and immediately applied for a retrial. |
|
138 |
Script change by Mostafa. |
COMM The
lawyer defending the Officer says the medical evidence is flawed and the real
circumstances around Ahmed’s death will be revealed during the retrial. |
|
139 |
|
|
IBRAHIM BARAKAT LAWYER FOR MOHAMMED HOSNY Mostafa: about
the sentence in absentia, can the sentence be reduced? Lawyer: The court
will restudy all the papers All the papers
will be returned to the court All our defences,
the court examines it all. Then it may -hopefully-
result in acquittal or it may reduce the sentence or it may uphold the
sentence in absentia. |
142 |
. |
COMM The
retrial begins today and for this Mohammed Hosny has to make an
appearance. Ahmed’s family will be
there too. This is the first time
they will lay eyes on his alleged killer. |
|
143 |
In car |
|
Mother: I just
want to look at him. I won’t cause
any problems. I swear to God I won’t
cause any trouble. Brother: We’re
going there and we’ll go and see what will happen.
Hopefully he’ll be a decent man and he’ll...you know. Okay. |
144 |
Ext. Ministry of
Justice Central Court, Ismailia Mostafa says he asked Judge for permission to film. |
COMM Ahmed’s
family are pinning their hopes on the retrial judge. They hope he will listen to all the
witnesses, including the forensic pathologist. They want him to uphold the conviction and enforce a prison
sentence. Mostafa
brings a small camera into the courtroom with the permission of the
judge. There, Ahmed’s mother and
brother wait patiently for four hours for the session to begin. Finally Mohammed Hosny is brought into the
prisoners’ cage, wearing a light shirt. At
that point, Ahmed’s mother can no longer contain herself. |
|
145 |
|
|
UPSOT MOTHER My son. Why?
Have you no pity? He killed my son. Give me peace! Enough of this! |
146 |
|
COMM The
lawyer for Ahmed’s family argues the judge should hear evidence from the
forensic pathologist and the conscripts who saw the fatal beating. |
|
147 |
|
|
Lawyer: The
forensic pathologist is the key witness in this case. Judge: I’ll get
(conscripts) one and two and the forensic pathologist. I’m not going to listen to sixteen
witnesses. |
147 |
In car |
COMM The
judge decides to resume the case in a month, and rules that Officer Mohammed
Hosny should go to prison. The
family has not given up hope for justice. |
|
|
|
|
MOTHER SYNC This is the first
time we’ve seen him and he wouldn’t answer me. He said to his lawyers “I’ll
give you all the money you want.” I have faith in
God and Egypt’s judiciary. |
148 |
|
|
|
|
|
COMM It
took another 4 months but on May the 8, 2016 the judge sentenced Mohammed
Hosny to three years – a reduction from the original 5 year sentence. And he still has the right to appeal. |
|
|
Mother and son at
home. |
|
Mother upsot: I trust in you
Allah. You will grant me vengeance. |
149 |
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|
150 |
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|
151 |
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152 |
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153 |
GV of home area / Home |
|
|
154 |
Sitting on sofa Stabilise
shot from roof |
COMM Ahmed
Hosni’s case is likely to be the last suspicious conscript death that will be
heard publicly. |
|
154A |
Sunset Words
on screen |
COMM One month after Ahmed died, President
Abdelfattah el Sisi issued an amendment to the Police law, particularly the
article concerning the trials of the Central Security Forces. From now on - “It is up to the military judiciary, not to anyone else, to decide on
all crimes that involve conscripts serving in the Police”. This
means is all cases of conscript deaths may now be heard in closed military
courts and not be open to public scrutiny.
|
|
154B |
Cairo GV/Mostafa
back in office/ photos and document |
COMM Back
in Cairo, Mostafa reflects on the similarities between the individual cases
he’s investigated. Too often it
seems, the facts around suicides and suspicious conscript deaths appear to be
covered up. If the
truth around even one death is covered up, why should I believe there aren’t
more? Is the problem systematic? |
|
|
Mostafa on phone |
COMM We try
one last time to reach the Ministry of Interior for a comment but we aren’t
successful. |
|
154B |
|
|
|
156 |
Funeral |
COMM In
November 2015 there was a new case involving a conscript who reportedly
hanged himself in one of the CSF camps in Cairo. The family has raised questions about the precise circumstances
of his death. The
list grows of young Egyptian men fulfilling their national duty and dying
without adequate explanation. With
the new law, their grieving families will now find it harder than ever to
find out why. |
|
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Credits |
|
Investigative
reporter and producer Mostafa
ElMarsafawy Camera Alaa El Kamhawi Mohamed Emad Mohamed Fathi Reconstruction filming Fred Scott Reconstruction camera assistant Lulu Nana Production Coordinator Cairo Ahmed Younis Production Coordinator Emma Davidson Producer and Editor Simon Ardizzone Colour Correction Fouad Al Chabawi Online Editors Zaydun Khalaf Stephen Beard Dubbing Mixer James Downham Najlaa Abou Merha BBC Arabic
Producer Executive
Producer Elizabeth C Jones Developed in
Partnership with Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) Executive
Producer for BBC Arabic Marc Perkins Executive
Producer for BBC World News Mary Wilkinson |
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