Egypt’s Nadeem Center for torture victims persists against odds

"According to the constitution, torture is a crime — but it is practiced every day," said Dr Aida Seif el Dawla (pictured above, second from left), as she sat on the sofa of her cozy Cairo apartment. "There is a total negligence of the law — ignoring the law, ignoring the constitution." Seif el Dawla is one of the founders of the Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and Torture. She can immediately recall the number of people the center has helped with physical and psychological therapy: "4,968." The Nadeem Center was founded in 1993, although the idea behind it was conceived in 1989 when its founders, Seif el Dawla along with Dr Susan Fayyad and Dr Abdullah Mansour, saw the necessity to treat the effects of torture. They were prompted by friends in the activist community who had been arrested after protesting at an iron and steelworkers' strike and reported they had been tortured. "Torture doesn't only target members of the political opposition, but actually the bulk of people subjected [to torture] are just ordinary citizens. What they have in common is poverty, marginalization, and no contacts if something goes wrong when they clash with the police," said Seif el Dawla. CLICK HERE to read the full story.