Amid harsh detention conditions lacking the most basic standards of justice and dignity, Dr Mohamed Salem Ghoneim, Professor of Library Science and Information Systems at the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University, has died in detention after four years of arbitrary imprisonment without being formally charged or brought to trial.
Dr Ghoneim was regarded as a distinguished academic, with significant scholarly contributions in his field, playing an important role in educating generations of students and researchers. Nevertheless, he spent his final years behind bars, isolated from public and academic life, with his health deteriorating due to medical neglect and inadequate care in prison.
His death in custody, under conditions described as inhumane, raises serious questions about the use of pretrial detention in Egypt, which in many cases has become a tool of open-ended punishment without judicial verdict.
Many detainees are denied basic rights, such as access to legal counsel, appropriate medical care, and the right to a healthy environment that preserves their life and dignity.
International human rights law stipulates that pretrial detention should be an exception, not the rule, and must only be used when strictly necessary and for the shortest possible time, subject to regular judicial review.
International standards, including the Nelson Mandela Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, oblige states to ensure adequate healthcare for detainees and prohibit subjecting them to inhuman or negligent treatment.
Dr Ghoneim’s death forms part of a worrying pattern of deaths in custody in Egypt, resulting from medical neglect and the abusive use of detention powers.
This tragic event demands an independent, transparent, and thorough investigation into the circumstances of his death, accountability for those responsible for violations that led to it, and a fundamental review of Egypt’s detention and accountability policies.
