As violent confrontations between armed Islamist groups and the Egyptian security forces have increased over the past four years, the human rights situation in Egypt has continued to worsen. Almost all of the torture victims appear to be those held in administrative detention.
Torture is believed to play a role in a number of deaths in custody.
One such case is that of 'Abd al-Harith Mohammad Madani, a prominent legal defender of Islamist defendants and a member of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, who was arrested in 1994. During his detention he was allegedly so severely tortured that he had to be taken to hospital. He reportedly died the following day. His family did not learn of his death until May 6, when they were ordered to collected his body from a morgue. The body was reportedly released to the family in a sealed coffin under police guard.