Egypt Internet video sharpens torture debate

The grainy video purports to show an Egyptian man, naked from the waist down, writhing in agony as he is sodomized with a stick by a police officer. A handful of other officers stand by watching. Reuters reports.

... "The video, which circulated on Egyptian blogs last month, has sparked uproar on the Internet in a country where rights groups say torture is commonplace in police stations. Authorities say such cases are isolated and not police policy.

The low-quality video appears to have been taken by an onlooker in the room, possibly using a mobile phone, activists said.

... Blogger Mohamed Khaled, who first posted the tape on his blog Demaghmak (Mak's brain), said he got the video from a neighbor who had received it on his mobile phone through Bluetooth technology.

But he said he does not know the original source. Since the sodomy video surfaced, a flurry of fresh torture allegations have appeared on Egyptian blogs. "

emily | 6:01 PM | Citizens as Camera Phone Reporters |
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