Egyptian prisons and detention centres have witnessed a significant increase in the number of deaths among political prisoners, who are held in inhumane conditions and subjected to deliberate medical neglect.
Over the past three days, four detainees have died in prisons, and the last victim was the detainee Fathi Al-Nagdi Salem, who was held inside Zagazig first police station.
Salem, 59, from Al-Sharqiya Governorate, was suffering from diabetes, and serious health deterioration in the last two days of his life which he lost in Zagazig Public Hospital.
The Egyptian authorities arrested the victim several times, the last of which was on September 21, 2021.
In the past two days, the businessman, Mosaad Tawfiq Al-Shafei, 62, from Giza Governorate, died inside his prison in Al-Qanater Prison in Qalyubia, as well as the detainee, who had cancer, Gehad Abdelhani Salem, 33, in Badr Prison 3, the detainee Ashraf Abdel Salam Ibrahim Mansour, known as “Ashraf Al-Selmi”, 47, in his prison cell in Burg Al-Arab prison.
Since the beginning of the year, the number of deaths in various Egyptian prisons and detention facilities has risen to 42.
Egyptian prisons and detention centres are witnessing a steady rise in the number of deaths, while the Egyptian authorities continue to prevent the Red Cross Committee to inspect prison conditions, leaving prisons without any kind of oversight or control.
It should be noted that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that “prisoners deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity, and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human personality.”
