HRW wants Egypt to probe prisoner deaths

Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday it wants Egypt to probe claims by Palestinians who escaped from prison during the unrest there that guards killed some fleeing prisoners and wounded others.

HRW published testimony from Palestinians formerly held in Egypt's Abu Zaabal prison who escaped and made their way to the Gaza Strip through tunnels under the border.

It called on Egyptian authorities to investigate claims that prison guards used unnecessary lethal force and to publish the names of prisoners killed.

It quoted Omar Shaath, from Rafah on the Gaza-Egypt border, who had been held without charge in Egypt for a year on suspicion of membership in an Islamic militant group.

As chaos spread across Egypt last Friday, Shaath said, prisoners began burning supplies and attempting to escape.

"Other prisoners were already out of their cells in the prison yard and when I waved to get their attention, a guard shot at me," the statement quoted him as saying.

"The guards kept firing when the other prisoners saw us trying to get out and began helping us tear down the windows."

HRW said its staff has seen video images captured on prisoners' mobile phones.

"One video shows two wounded men hiding in a narrow space inside the prison; gunfire is heard in the background," the statement said. "One of the men is dazed and is bleeding from his ear, and is unable to stand."

"Snipers in the guard tower directed heavy fire towards the third floor of the detainees section of the prison," Shaath said. "There were quite a few dead and wounded.

He added that the riots and shooting were over by sundown after guards fled and the prison emptied.
Another escapee, Moatasem al-Quqa, said that on the morning of the breakout he heard people shouting and found out that families of prisoners had come to free their relatives.

The prisoners started to riot and managed to tear down a wall of the prison, he said. He described heavy shooting by guards during the escape and saw 10 to 12 dead bodies of prisoners and protesters.

"Under the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, security forces may only use lethal force when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life," HRW said.