Two more Egyptian prisoners of conscience have died whilst being detained, due to the conditions of their detention, torture, and medical neglect.
Hussein Hassan Abdallah, 41 years old, has died after being tortured whilst held at the National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters in Cairo.
Abdallah was arrested in his home on 26 March 2022 and ‘disappeared’ by the NSA. He was tortured and his health deteriorated as a result.
Abdallah was from Kharga, the capital of the New Valley Governorate, where he ran a library.
Another prisoner of conscience, Radwan Salama Radwan Nassef, 57 years old, has died in Faqous hospital in Ash Sharqia Governorate, after being transferred there two weeks before from the local police station. Nassef suffered from a liver condition, which worsened due to the conditions of his detention.
Nassef, who taught French, was from Akiad al-Qibliya in Ash Sharqia governorate.
Egyptian authorities arrested Nassef on three separate occasions since 2013. His longest spell of detention lasted more than two years.
With Abdallah and Nassef’s deaths, the number of fatalities in Egyptian detention centres since the current regime took power in 2013 has risen to 936. Most are attributable to torture or medical negligence, or both.
Prisoners of conscience suffer from medical negligence across the Egyptian prison system, which does not meet the minimum international standards for detention. Massive overcrowding, malnutrition, lack of hygiene, including the management of insects and pollution, all contribute to the deterioration of prisoners’ health.
