In yet another tragic incident underscoring the deep humanitarian crisis within Egypt’s prison system, detainee Hamdi Mohamed, 63, passed away on Friday, 31 October, at Minya Liman Prison, following prolonged illness and deliberate denial of essential medical care.
Hamdi’s death adds to the growing number of fatalities behind bars, particularly among elderly and chronically ill detainees, amid a systemic pattern of medical negligence that constitutes a grave violation of the right to life and Egypt’s domestic and international obligations regarding the treatment of prisoners.
A farmer from Wadi El Rayan village in Fayoum, Hamdi had been detained for around 18 months. During his detention at Youssef El Sediq Police Station, he underwent open-heart surgery and had stents fitted—conditions that required continuous medical follow-up. However, authorities later transferred him to Minya Liman Prison, which lacked the necessary medical facilities and care, leading to the rapid deterioration of his condition in recent months, especially after he was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the so-called “Youssef El Sediq Police Station Raid” case of 2013.
Despite repeated pleas from fellow inmates to save him, the prison administration merely placed him in an ill-equipped first-aid room and refused to transfer him to a specialised hospital. His condition worsened until he drew his final breath—after a deliberate delay in providing proper care.
Hamdi’s death reflects a broader pattern of ongoing medical neglect, with other inmates, such as Saleh Abed, having died in the same facility within the last two months. These incidents have not prompted any genuine accountability or transparent investigations.
This continued reality raises serious questions about the state’s adherence to prisoners’ rights under Egyptian law, which mandates the provision of healthcare to all detainees without discrimination. It also violates Article 55 of the Egyptian Constitution, which prohibits exposing any detainee to physical or mental harm and guarantees humane treatment.
The death of Hamdi Mohamed in Minya Liman Prison is a stark reminder of the failure of Egypt’s penal system to uphold basic human rights, and of how prisons have become closed spaces where sick detainees die in silence, while justice remains absent and accountability deferred.
