Egyptian detainee Mohamed Hassan Hilal, 32, has died in the intensive care unit of Qasr Al-Ainy Hospital in Cairo, after being transferred in critical condition from Badr 3 Prison. His death comes amid allegations of severe torture leading to death.
Hilal was taken to hospital while being in complete coma and underwent emergency surgery to stop internal bleeding in his skull, believed to be the result of serious injuries, including fractures to the skull and hands.
Despite his deteriorating condition, the authorities transferred him to hospital shackled at both the hands and feet and under heavy guard.
This incident is part of a wider pattern of ongoing abuses against political detainees in Egypt, where prisoners are often held for extended periods without fair trial or are re-detained in new cases after serving their sentences.
Hilal, an engineering student from Nasr City in Cairo, was arrested in 2016 over politically motivated charges. He was sentenced to five years in prison in a case that included accusations of attempting to assassinate the assistant public prosecutor.
Following the completion of his sentence, he was due for release, but the authorities re-arrested him in a new case, leading to his continued detention until his death under vague circumstances.
His death is the 11th death of detainees in Egyptian prisons since the beginning of this year, according to human rights sources, reflecting the ongoing deterioration of conditions in detention centres.
Hilal’s death adds to a growing list of fatalities in Egyptian prisons, many resulting from medical neglect or torture. The Egyptian authorities face repeated accusations of deliberately denying detainees access to healthcare, practicing systematic torture, and imposing inhumane detention conditions.
This incident highlights the repressive practices in Egypt’s prison system, amid warnings that the persistence of such policies could spark wider human rights and political crises, especially as international pressure mounts on the Egyptian regime over its record of violations.
