Mohamed Abdel Hamid Al-Saifi, 61, Hahya, Sharkia Governorate, was the latest detainee to die in Egyptian prisons as a result of medical negligence.
Al-Saifi had cancer and was deprived of receiving appropriate treatment by the prison authorities until he reached a late stage and was transferred to the hospital, where he died on Wednesday, October 7, 2022.
In July 2017, Al-Saifi was sentenced to death in the Assassination of the Public Prosecutor’s case No. 81/2016. He was arrested and subjected to forcible disappearance before being presented to the prosecution without a lawyer and transferred to Badr 3 prison before he died.
Last September, 4 detainees died in different prisons in Egypt. The number of those who died in prison since the beginning of the year has reached 33, and hundreds of deaths have occurred since July 2013.
Egyptian prisons and detention centres are witnessing a steady rise in the number of deaths, while the Egyptian authorities prevent the Red Cross Committee from inspecting prison conditions, thus leaving prisons without any oversight except that of Public Prosecution, which does not primarily investigate crimes of torture, but has instead become a partner in covering up for its perpetrators.
It is noteworthy that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that “prisoners deprived of their liberty should be treated with humanity, with respect for the inherent dignity of the human personality.”
