The Egyptian authorities continue to put the life of a paralyzed detainee, Dr. Mohamed Zaki Abdel Hamid, at risk by subjecting him to deliberate medical negligence.
Abdel Hamid, orthopedic consultant, suffers from hemiplegia,in addition to an injury to his leg that hinders his movement and causes him severe pain.
On March 4, 2021, Egyptian authorities subjected Abdel Hamid to enforced disappearance after arresting him while he was bedridden in his home, waiting to undergo surgery.
Abdel Hamid, 56, was previously subjected to arrest and enforced disappearance in 2019, and was released due to severe deterioration in his health conditions.
Egyptian prisons lack essential health elements, including having access to adequate food, sanitary facilities, lack of enough toilets for the large number of prisoners, lack of good lighting or ventilation, as well as extreme overcrowding in prison cells.
Families of Detainees and various human rights organisations emphasised that detainees in Egyptian prisons are subjected to deliberate medical negligence where they are usually not allowed to be examined for their illnesses, and when they are finally allowed, the prison doctor mistreats them and only provides painkillers for all different and serious illnesses. Thus, many detainees have been relying on other detained doctors to diagnose them. Moreover, the prison authorities deny the entry of detainees’ necessary medicines, or allowing them to undergo medical tests or receive treatment in hospitals outside prison.
Since the coup against former President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, the number of political detainees who died inside Egyptian prisons has reached 920, most of whom died as a result of medical negligence.
