Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Egypt’s police force, despite the election of the Muslim
Brotherhood, is said to continue to abuse civilians and detainees.

A human rights group said Egyptian police were torturing detainees and
using violence against civilians. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal
Rights asserted that three people were tortured to death in the first four
months of the administration of President Mohammed Morsi.

“Police still use excessive force, and torture is still systematic just
as it was under the Mubarak regime,” the report said.

The report, released on Jan. 22, said Morsi has not changed police
behavior. The human rights group said the new Islamist regime has not imposed reforms on the police and security forces, the most hated element of former President Hosni Mubarak’s regime, ousted in 2011.

“Now, two years after the January revolution, it seems that the state
and the police still use the same repressive methods that were used prior to the revolution,” the report said. “No genuine reform took place to restore the police system its true mission in safeguarding citizens’ dignity, maintaining security and achieving justice.”

The report cited 16 cases of police violence. Eleven people were killed and 10 tortured in these incidents.

“Police abuses remain systematic, and the same laws and policies govern
the work of policemen,” the report said. “Meanwhile, the Public Prosecution
continues to act in a way that facilitates impunity for police personnel and
hinders accountability.”

The report said Morsi has not taken any steps to hold police accountable
for the abuses. Since August, Morsi has reshuffled the police and security
command, particularly in the turbulent Sinai Peninsula.

“All of this points to a pattern of state crimes, and the unjustified
and illegal use of force and weapons, in a context of impunity and lack of
accountability for crimes committed both during the first 18 days of the
revolution and throughout the past two years,” the report said.

  “same repressive methods”, Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Muslim Brotherhood, Rights group: Egyptian police brutality unchanged under Morsi