State Security Investigations Service
Encyclopedia
The Egyptian State Security Investigations Service (SSI) (Arabic
: , Transliteration: ) was the highest national investigating authority in Egypt
. Estimated to employ 100,000 people, the SSI was the main security apparatus of Egypt's Ministry of Interior
and had the role of controlling opposition groups, both armed groups and those engaged in peaceful opposition to the government. Both Egyptian and international human rights groups, as well as the United Nations Committee Against Torture, have documented widespread use of torture by the SSI, with Human Rights Watch singling out the SSI in what it called a "pervasive culture of impunity" with regard to torture.
Following the 2011 Egyptian revolution
, the head of the SSI was arrested under suspicion of ordering the killings of demonstrators. On March 15, 2011, the Ministry of the Interior announced the dissolution of the agency. The service was replaced by the Egyptian Homeland security
.
, a "Supreme State Security Court" in Giza, a "Supreme State Security Prosecution" (Niyabat Amn al-Dawl a al-'Ulya), etc. A diplomatic cable sent in 2007 published by The Daily Telegraph
as part of the leak of classified US diplomatic cables
discussed what the then SSI head called the "excellent and strong" cooperation between the SSI and the United States FBI
. The cable also discussed the benefit the SSI derived from training opportunities at the FBI's Quantico, Virginia headquarters.
reported that "Egyptian authorities have a longstanding and well-documented record of engaging in arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detention, and torture and other ill-treatment of detainees," and that the SSI has in particular committed acts of torture and denied detainees fundamental human rights. A US diplomatic cable reported that police brutality and torture are "routine and pervasive". The cable also reported that the security services functioned as "instruments of power that serve and protect the regime".
of Egyptian-born cleric
Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr
, also known as Abu Omar from the streets of Milan
on February 17, 2003 have said that his final disposition, after a flight from Aviano to Ramstein and then from Ramstein to Alexandria, was into the hands of the SSI. At least one of the CIA
officials named in the indictment, Robert Seldon Lady
, is said to have accompanied Omar to Egypt, and to have spent two weeks in Cairo assisting in Omar's interrogation.
Following the 25th of January 2011 Revolution, on the 4th & 5th of March, 2011, several SSI buildings were raided across Egypt by protesters. Protesters state they raided in the buildings to secure documents they believed to show various crimes committed by the SSI against the people of Egypt during Mubarak's rule. On the night of 5 March in Cairo, "the sight of a dump truck emerging from the Cairo compound laden with shredded paper sent protesters into a fury, creating the momentum that drove the crowd past the army soldiers outside and into the hastily abandoned main building."
Most notably at the Nasr City
HQ in Cairo were many acquired documents which seemed to prove mass surveillance
of citizens and many sexually explicit tapes of public figures as well as torturing tools and secret cells. Protesters broke into the building in Alexandria
on March 4, after clashing with security forces, and on March 5 others entered the headquarters in the central city of Assiut. In Cairo, another building breached was in 6th of October City, where "some of the most incriminating documents have already been destroyed." McClatchy Newspapers reported that, when there was much uncertainty about the validity of documents which emerged, "[p]erhaps the most controversial document to ricochet around Internet message boards was one that purport[ed] to lay out State Security's involvement in [the] deadly church bombing
on New Year's Day in the port city of Alexandria. ... The legitimacy of the document hasn't been determined, but its distribution touched off protests Sunday in Cairo by hundreds of Coptic Christians."
Other documents uncovered included names of judges involved in fixing elections and those of a small number of Egyptians who were informants. The publishing of these names posed a moral dilemma for some of the protesters, balancing the danger the informants would be put under against anger at having been spied on.
On 15 March 2011, SSIS was dissolved by Interior Minister Mansour el-Issawy in response to the revelations of the previous weeks. He also announced plans for the establishment of a new "National Security Sector" to take over SSIS's counter-terrorism and other domestic-security responsibilities.
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
: , Transliteration: ) was the highest national investigating authority in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. Estimated to employ 100,000 people, the SSI was the main security apparatus of Egypt's Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Interior (Egypt)
The Ministry of Interior of Egypt is part of the Cabinet of Egypt. It is responsible for law enforcement in Egypt. The current minister is Mansour el-Essawy, appointed 5 March 2011....
and had the role of controlling opposition groups, both armed groups and those engaged in peaceful opposition to the government. Both Egyptian and international human rights groups, as well as the United Nations Committee Against Torture, have documented widespread use of torture by the SSI, with Human Rights Watch singling out the SSI in what it called a "pervasive culture of impunity" with regard to torture.
Following the 2011 Egyptian revolution
2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution took place following a popular uprising that began on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 and is still continuing as of November 2011. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil...
, the head of the SSI was arrested under suspicion of ordering the killings of demonstrators. On March 15, 2011, the Ministry of the Interior announced the dissolution of the agency. The service was replaced by the Egyptian Homeland security
Egyptian Homeland security
The General Homeland Security is an Egyptian security service, the main domestic security agency of the Egypt and the main successor agency of the State Security Investigations Service . Its main responsibilities are counter-intelligence, internal and border security, counter-terrorism, and...
.
Organization
The SSI is a branch of the Interior Ministry in eEgypt with an official aim of protecting the security of Egypt. The SSI has many official bureaus that provide its public face: an "Investigative Bureau" in the Lazoghli section of CairoCairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, a "Supreme State Security Court" in Giza, a "Supreme State Security Prosecution" (Niyabat Amn al-Dawl a al-'Ulya), etc. A diplomatic cable sent in 2007 published by The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
as part of the leak of classified US diplomatic cables
United States diplomatic cables leak
The United States diplomatic cables leak, widely known as Cablegate, began in February 2010 when WikiLeaks—a non-profit organization that publishes submissions from anonymous whistleblowers—began releasing classified cables that had been sent to the U.S. State Department by 274 of its consulates,...
discussed what the then SSI head called the "excellent and strong" cooperation between the SSI and the United States FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
. The cable also discussed the benefit the SSI derived from training opportunities at the FBI's Quantico, Virginia headquarters.
Allegations of torture
In a report in 2002, the United Nations Committee against Torture expressed "particular concern at the widespread evidence of torture and ill-treatment in administrative premises under the control of the State Security Investigation Department, the infliction of which is reported to be facilitated by the lack of any mandatory inspection by an independent body of such premises." Human Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
reported that "Egyptian authorities have a longstanding and well-documented record of engaging in arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detention, and torture and other ill-treatment of detainees," and that the SSI has in particular committed acts of torture and denied detainees fundamental human rights. A US diplomatic cable reported that police brutality and torture are "routine and pervasive". The cable also reported that the security services functioned as "instruments of power that serve and protect the regime".
Involvement in extraordinary rendition
Italian authorities investigating the illegal abductionExtraordinary rendition
Extraordinary rendition is the abduction and illegal transfer of a person from one nation to another. "Torture by proxy" is used by some critics to describe situations in which the United States and the United Kingdom have transferred suspected terrorists to other countries in order to torture the...
of Egyptian-born cleric
Imam Rapito affair
The Abu Omar Case refers to the abduction and transfer to Egypt of the Imam of Milan Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, also known as Abu Omar...
Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr
Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr
Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr , also known as Abu Omar, is an Egyptian cleric. In 2003 he was living in Milan, Italy, from where he was kidnapped and allegedly later tortured in Egypt. This "Imam rapito affair" prompted a series of investigations in Italy, culminating in the criminal convictions of...
, also known as Abu Omar from the streets of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
on February 17, 2003 have said that his final disposition, after a flight from Aviano to Ramstein and then from Ramstein to Alexandria, was into the hands of the SSI. At least one of the CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
officials named in the indictment, Robert Seldon Lady
Robert Seldon Lady
Robert Seldon Lady is a convicted kidnapper and a noted member of the U.S...
, is said to have accompanied Omar to Egypt, and to have spent two weeks in Cairo assisting in Omar's interrogation.
2011 revolution and after
One of the major demands of protesters during the Egyptian revolution was the abolition of the State Security Investigations.Following the 25th of January 2011 Revolution, on the 4th & 5th of March, 2011, several SSI buildings were raided across Egypt by protesters. Protesters state they raided in the buildings to secure documents they believed to show various crimes committed by the SSI against the people of Egypt during Mubarak's rule. On the night of 5 March in Cairo, "the sight of a dump truck emerging from the Cairo compound laden with shredded paper sent protesters into a fury, creating the momentum that drove the crowd past the army soldiers outside and into the hastily abandoned main building."
Most notably at the Nasr City
Nasr City
Nasr City is a district of Cairo, Egypt. It is located to the east of the Cairo Governorate and consists mostly of condominiums. It was established in the 1960s as an extension to neighboring suburb of Heliopolis. The establishment of the district was part of the Egyptian Government's plan to...
HQ in Cairo were many acquired documents which seemed to prove mass surveillance
Mass surveillance
Mass surveillance is the pervasive surveillance of an entire population, or a substantial fraction thereof.Modern governments today commonly perform mass surveillance of their citizens, explaining that they believe that it is necessary to protect them from dangerous groups such as terrorists,...
of citizens and many sexually explicit tapes of public figures as well as torturing tools and secret cells. Protesters broke into the building in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
on March 4, after clashing with security forces, and on March 5 others entered the headquarters in the central city of Assiut. In Cairo, another building breached was in 6th of October City, where "some of the most incriminating documents have already been destroyed." McClatchy Newspapers reported that, when there was much uncertainty about the validity of documents which emerged, "[p]erhaps the most controversial document to ricochet around Internet message boards was one that purport[ed] to lay out State Security's involvement in [the] deadly church bombing
2011 Alexandria bombing
The 2011 Alexandria bombing was an attack on Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt, on Saturday, 1 January 2011. Twenty three people died as a result of the attack, all of them Coptic Christians. Some 97 more people were injured...
on New Year's Day in the port city of Alexandria. ... The legitimacy of the document hasn't been determined, but its distribution touched off protests Sunday in Cairo by hundreds of Coptic Christians."
Other documents uncovered included names of judges involved in fixing elections and those of a small number of Egyptians who were informants. The publishing of these names posed a moral dilemma for some of the protesters, balancing the danger the informants would be put under against anger at having been spied on.
On 15 March 2011, SSIS was dissolved by Interior Minister Mansour el-Issawy in response to the revelations of the previous weeks. He also announced plans for the establishment of a new "National Security Sector" to take over SSIS's counter-terrorism and other domestic-security responsibilities.
See also
- Saad Eddin Ibrahim, academic subject to SSI investigation
External links
- http://diplomatictraffic.com/opinions_archives.asp?ID=113
- State Security Investigations Service leaks
- http://web.amnesty.org/report2003/egy-summary-eng
- http://web2.amnesty.org/library/Index/engMDE120111997
- Fausto Giudice, «Extraordinary Rendition» - À la recherche de Mister Bob et des 18 salopards