The Egyptian authorities continue to arbitrarily detain lawyer Mohamed El-Sayed Abdel Fattah for 15 months, despite the significant deterioration of his health condition.
On Sunday, the Supreme State Security Criminal Court will be reviewing the renewal of Abdel Fattah’s detention on charges of joining a banned group and spreading false news. It is worth noting that these charges have been systematically used by the regime against its opponents and human rights defenders
Prior to his arrest, Abdel Fattah was suffering from cancer and he also undergone a spinal marrow transplant operation. His lawyers submitted medical documents on his condition to the Public Prosecution and the Criminal Court, which decided to renew his detention, despite the fact that since his arrest, the prison authorities have deprived him of access to the necessary medical treatment or follow-up.
Abdel Fattah has not seen his parents for so long due to his father’s old age and difficulty moving, in addition to his mother who is being bedridden for three years, and is currently being treated in the Intensive Care Unit due to recent strokes caused by her grief for her sick and detained son.
The Egyptian authorities arrested Abdel Fattah from his home in Alexandria in March 2021, and subjected him to enforced disappearance for several days, before appearing in the Supreme State Security Prosecution on March 14, where he was investigated in a political case No. 627 of 2021, Supreme State Security Prosecution.
Prisoners of conscience suffer from medical negligence in Egyptian detention facilities, which lack international standards for places of detention suitable for humans, in addition to the overcrowding in cells, malnutrition, and lack of hygiene and ventilation.
