7 Days

Dubai, May 5: A prisoner at Dubai Central Jail has testified in court that he was viciously beaten by masked prison guards and police officers during a search of his cell.

Another prisoner was attacked so brutally during the searches that he was left with a permanent disability, the court heard. Twenty five guards and officers are on trial accused of beating prisoners and using excessive force during a routine search of the Al Aweer jail last August.

The Egyptian prisoner at first refused to testify in court yesterday against the prison wardens and police officers - only doing so after a judge warned him he could face further punishment if he didn’t speak up. Visibly shaken, he then looked around the packed court and pointed to two of his alleged attackers.

“Those are the men who beat me,” he told the judge, pointing at the defendants. The victim went on to claim that the prison wardens had severely beaten him before forcing him to lie face down on the floor, and then while standing on his back ordering him to crawl. “I couldn’t move and they kept yelling at me and beat me badly,” the prisoner said. “I also heard that they had thrown a man down the stairs, causing him many bad and serious injuries.”

According to court records, an Armenian prisoner, who was left permanently disabled by the attack, said he was woken up by loud voices and saw masked men dragging prisoners around. “We were beaten by men in black masks as we ran through the alleyway to the outside prison yard. Some of the wardens assaulted us violently,” he said.

A Dubai police major who investigated the allegations said that digital recordings showed wardens and anti-riot police taking the prisoners out of their cells and beating them. The trial is continuing.