Different outward features, same sub-species: homo psychopathicus. The one on the right you know. The one on the left is Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Egypt's defense minister and chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the military group that took power on Feb. 11, 2011, after weeks of unrest directed at President Hosni Mubarak. He is currently the country’s de facto leader. It is Mr. Tantawi, perhaps more than any other single person, who is now driving events in Egypt.
The killing under torture in a maximum security prison in Cairo of Essam Ali Atta Ali, a 24-year-old Egyptian, raises concern on the role of the Egyptian military in the "New Egypt." His death was likened to that of Khalid Said, who was beaten to death by the police in Alexandria last year. What Atta's death show is that the same abuses that were perpetrated under former president Hosni Mubarak continue, and that true democracy and respect for people's rights are still a long way off in Egypt.
Atta was arrested last February, convicted of "thuggery." He was sentenced to two years in prison. According to the Interior Ministry, he was also carrying an unlicensed weapon. He is one of 12,000 cases who, according to human rights activists in the country, have been tried by military, instead of civilian, courts. In contrast, Mubarak and his cronies are being tried in civilian courts and their trials are expected to last for months or even years.
"The military justice system should never be used to investigate or prosecute civilians. Military courts are fundamentally unfair, as they deprive defendants of basic fair trial guarantees," states Amnesty International. One may recall, in this regard, George Clemenceau's statement that, "Military justice is to justice as military music is to music."
What makes his case special, however, is that it proves that torture and assassination continue to be practiced in Egyptian jails. Atta was sodomized to death by prison guards who used hoses to inject water into his mouth and anus which produced profuse bleeding leading to his death. A statement from the military government attributed Atta's death to "unknown poisoning" and said that prison guards tried to save him.
Comment: Another legitimate grievance of the 99%. It is mockery when the corporate elite sneer that the OWS protesters should "get a bath, and get a job" when they know perfectly well the jobs are already outsourced to their serfs overseas.