Following publication of a report by 16 human rights organisations alleging arbitrary arrest and torture of people seized by police for exercising the right to protest, Egypt’s prosecutor-general has asserted that there are no political prisoners in Egypt.

The report suggests that over a thousand people have recently been arrested for demonstrating on the anniversary of the January 25 revolution of 2011. Many testimonies allege torture and sexual assaults carried out in prisons, police stations and police vehicles.

On Wednesday 12 February Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat met Stavros Lambrinidis, the European Union human rights representative. He told Lambrinidis that security officials have ample evidence against all those held – and that there are no political prisoners in Egypt.

What you can do:

• Write to the Egyptian Interior Minister, Mohamed Ibrahim (center@iscmi.gov.eg) demanding the release of all political detainees, independent investigation of torture allegations and the prosecution of the perpetrators
• Sign our statement and join the campaign to defend democratic rights in Egypt.