Egyptian human rights organisations say the country has changed in a police state which affords its citizens no protection against torture.

In a joint report, 16 human rights organisations argue that perpetrators almost always escape punishment and immunity from prosecution has become standard policy in Egypt. As a result, citizens have become increasingly vulnerable to torture and police brutality.

According to the human rights organisations, it is not just activists who are at risk; anyone falling in the hands of the Egyptian police has reason to fear being tortured. The report lists electrical shocks, lashes of the whip and burning cigarettes as instruments of torture used by the authorities.

A state of emergency has been in force in Egypt since the assassination of former president Anwar Sadat in 1981. It has been renewed time and again, despite protests by human rights organisations.

Photo: demonstration against torture (Flickr/Jeff Black)