The family of Strong Egypt party leader Abdel Moneim Abu al-Fotouh has confirmed that he has suffered a “brutal assault” by members of Egypt’s security forces whilst detained in the Mazra‘at Tora prison, Cairo. The assault led to a heart attack.
In a statement, his family said that the assault occurred on 23 March, after he insisted on reporting the restrictions prison authorities have placed on visitations since early 2019.
“The restrictions were imposed without justification, and extend the continuous abuse that [al-Fotouh] has suffered for more than 4 years, since the start of his pretrial detention in February 2018.”
Since last January al-Fotouh has maintained his request to meet with the prison warden in order to establish procedures for visitation, though this has thus far been ignored.
“On 23 March of this year, [al-Fotouh] again asked to meet with the warden to establish a record of his being denied visits, and the administration’s response to his demands on these issues. He was told that the warden was unavailable; al-Fotouh responded by saying that he refused to return to his cell until such a meeting was arranged.”
“Shortly afterwards, Brigadier General Ahmed al-Wakeel, a regional prisons inspector, and another officer, Ashraf Shalaby, arrived with a force of soldiers. Al-Fotouh had a severe heart attack immediately afterwards.”
“Yet the prison administration’s response was limited to giving him an angioplasty twice over a six-hour period, until his condition stabilised around 10pm that same evening.”
A number of days after the incident, al-Fotouh requested a meeting with the prison warden or a prison investigations officer to make a report on what happened. This request was denied.
Al-Fotouh’s family have confirmed that the prison’s administration has blocked his messages from reaching them, until Saturday’s visit.
Al-Fotouh’s family has said that it holds the Minister of the Interior, the Deputy Minister of the Interior for Prisons, and the warden of Mazra‘a prison, directly responsible for his fate.
Al-Fotouh, who has been detained since February 2018, suffers from several chronic illnesses, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and problems with his heart and prostate.
Al-Fotouh was arrested after his return from London following an interview with Al-Jazeera in which he criticised the rule of current Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, prior to al-Sisi’s re-election in March 2018.
A number of charges were brought against al-Fotouh, including leading a terrorist group, weapons possession, and “spreading false news”.
On 27 February 2022, the Egyptian Court of Cassation issued a final ruling, listing al-Fotouh, his son, and several other people as terrorists.
