The political detainee Gehad Abdelghani Mohamed Selim died due to cancer and deliberate medical negligence.
Four days ago, his family issued an urgent appeal to save his life after he was transferred to the intensive care unit of the medical center in Badr 3 prison.
His cellmates and his lawyer stated that he wished to die outside the prison and spend his last days near his son Saif, 9, and his daughter Habiba, 14. It was his death wish to see and touch his children.
Months ago, Gehad appealed to save his life, after cancer had spread all over his body and the Abu Zaabal prison administration refused to treat him, or to undergo a surgery doctors had set up for him after failure of his chemotherapy sessions.
In a leaked message Gehad stated that three months ago a surgery was scheduled for him to remove the tumor, which he suffered while in prison, more than a year and a half ago.
The surgery was not performed without any reasons. He had also been subjected to several violations since his arrest seven years ago in a political case.
The deceased was recently sentenced to 15 years in prison in an unfair trial.
Before his death, Gehad appealed to all concerned to get the necessary treatment and surgery as his health had severely deteriorated.
He stated that at the beginning it was a simple tumor in part of his tongue, but the deliberate medical negligence he was exposed to contributed to the deterioration of his condition and the spread of the tumor to reach his brain.
In his plea for help, he said: “Help me for God’s sake. The tumor was only in the tongue, until it spread all over my tongue, mouth, neck and head.”
He added, “Now I cannot speak, eat, or drink water. Now the tumor is blocking the airways and I cannot breathe, swallow, or hear. I am pleading for mercy.”
He continued, “I often pray to God to die, as I cannot bear the pain anymore.”
He added, “I took four doses of chemotherapy, and an operation was scheduled for me more than three months ago, and the date for the operation has been set. The cancer is spreading, and the pain is killing me, and these hospitals have refused to perform the operation three times; the Oncology Institute, Kasr Al-Aini and the Institute of Nasser. Please help me for God’s sake.. I only want to undergo the surgery.. I don’t want to die like this.”
Gehad’s family has repeatedly confirmed that it has issued a number of communications and telegrams to several parties, including the Egyptian Public Prosecutor and the Prison Service, to demand his right to treatment and to perform the surgery prescribed for him, however they received no response until now.
Gehad Abdelghani, from the Abu Kabir Center, is 33 years old. He was arbitrarily arrested on September 13, 2015 and forcibly disappeared for more than 30 days, during which he was subjected to severe torture to confess to unrelated allegations.
Since his arrest, he has been placed in the Zagazig General Prison then transferred to Abu Zaabal prison in very poor conditions of detention, in addition to being subjected to deliberate medical negligence.
Gehad is the sixth detainee to die in December, and the 40th death since the beginning of the year, and death toll continues to rise in prisons, while the Egyptian authorities prevent the Red Cross from inspecting prison conditions.
It should be noted that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that “prisoners deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity, and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human personality.”
