These recent extrajudicial killings, which took place in late September 2009, were submitted to the Special Rapporteur on Summary Executions (SUMX) on 18 November 2009. Alkarama has called for an independent investigation to be opened in order to ascertain the causes of their deaths.

"With these types of deaths - at the hands of the authorities..." said a source inside Egypt, "there is usually a lot of bureaucratic red tape and insurmountable corruption ... autopsies are often compromised and the time of death is habitually altered." The source went on to say that "most of the time family members are forced into signing false testimonies ... the lies are blatant and without remorse."

The Facts: Farouk al-Sayed

According to official reports, Farouk Al-Sayed was arrested on 18 September 2009 and died on 27 September 2009. Reliable sources claim that he was arrested after refusing to cooperate as a neighborhood police informant; yet the authorities formally accused him of drug possession at the time of his arrest. The arrest was carried out by General Investigation Services in front of his home, under the command of the Chief Constable of Sayida Zainab police station, Ihab Al-Sai'di. He was subsequently presented before the General Prosecution on 18 September 2009 and detained for a further four days pending investigation. During those four days he was apparently subject to extremely cruel torture: electric shocks to his chest, legs, ears - beatings to his head, hands, feet and back - and finally his eyes were pierced. On 27 September 2009, Farouk Al-Sayed's wife demanded to see him, but was eventually told that her husband had been transferred to hospital.

That same day, Ihab Al-Sai'di called Farouk Al-Sayed's wife and his mother to explain that Mr al-Sayed had suffered a drop in blood pressure and that he had been immediately taken to al-Munira hospital where he died shortly thereafter.

Later in the day of 27 September 2009, Ihab Al-Sai'di requested that Mr al-Sayed's family sign documents confirming the police official statement regarding the cause of death in order to receive the body for funeral and burial. However, the family refused to sign and insisted upon seeing Mr Al-Sayed's body. Ihab Al-Sai'di then detained Mr Al-Sayed's wife to pressure her into signing, but again she refused.

Upon her eventual release, Mr Al-Sayed's wife was able to visit her husband's body at the morgue - there were clear signs of torture. That same day, 27 September 2009, his wife filed a complaint with the Prosecutor General claiming the death of her husband at the hands of the Saida Zainab police officers. The complaint is currently under investigation and Farouk Al-Sayed's family has to date received no information regarding the inquiry.

Official information regarding Farouk Al-Sayed's death, as witnesses and reliable sources have attested, has been subjected to obvious tampering. Although Farouk Al-Sayed was clearly the victim of death by torture, it is difficult to determine whether or not the Egyptian authorities intended to kill Farouk Al-Sayed. Perhaps the torture was too much, one blow too many, yet the case illustrates in a dramatic way the unavoidable outcome of the systematic use of violence in police headquarters.

As with the case of Yusuf Abu Zahri - the brother of Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zahri - the information available is inconsistent: sources close to the events claim Sami Abu Zahri died on 8 or 9 October 2009, however the Egyptian authorities officially announced his death on 10 October 2009. In Farouk al-Sayed's case, a suspicious article appeared in Masri al-Yom on 26 September 2009 detailing his death, however nothing was officially announced until 27 September 2009, and only after his wife had visited Sayida Zainab police headquarters demanding to see him.

Despite the gravity of his death, Farouk Al-Sayed's case is ultimately overshadowed by that of Hassan Shandi. As with the case of Magdei Marei, Mr Shandi was the victim of a calculated murder by State Security officers over land claims.

The Facts: Hassan Abdel Razak Shandi

About one year ago, when the Awqaf ministry decided to sell land allotments in Hassan Shandi's village, Al-Muntaza (near Alexandria), to a group of police and the State Security officers. A protest movement eventually rose from amongst the farmers, for which Hasan Shandi became the leader.

The farmers claimed that they were the first to own the 317 acres of land, intended for purchase by the officers. The Ministry of Awqaf sought to sell the land the officer. According to reliable sources, the land was provisionally sold for 100,000 Egyptian Pounds (LE) per acre - however experts claim that the land is worth closer to 5 million LE per acre. Under pressure from the officers and victimized by threats, some of the families gave into the sale, and others refused - amongst the latter was Hasan Shandi who eventually managed to halt the sale.

It was suddenly on the morning of 23 September 2009, when the people of Al-Muntaza awoke to find Hassan Shandi, dead - strangled with his arms and legs tied behind his back, with a warning inscribed on his jellabiya "It's your turn next Salama Karim, you peasant leader!". Hassan Shandi's family immediately filed a complaint with the Prosecution of Al-Muntaza on 24 September 2009 - the Prosecution has ordered an investigation into Hassan Shandi's death and called for an autopsy to determine the cause and time of death - which is still on-going, and the family has not heard any news since filing their complaint.

As information continues to surface, there now seems to be an apparent link between land claim disputes and extrajudicial killings by security forces in Egypt. As with deaths caused by torture, it has become evident that the Egyptian authorities - and in particular security services and police - are executing murders to satisfy their main aims: instilling fear amongst those who personally oppose their personal demands - even at the cost of lives, carry out these actions with complete immunity.

The extrajudicial killing of innocent people and the torture of victims under false pretenses, perpetrated by the Egyptian authorities, whatever the circumstances, is contrary to the principles of the international laws by which the Egyptian authorities are bound. The families of the victims of such atrocities should be granted their right to have their cases investigated independently.

Alkarama had previously submitted the murder case of Magdi Marei in early September 2009 to the Special Rapporteur on Summary Executions (SUMX), as well as that of Sami Abu Zahri in October 2009.