Families of Egyptian detainees in Burj Al-Arab prison in Alexandria announced that their relatives have started a hunger strike against the violations in the prison.
They confirmed that seven detainees attempted suicide, and the prison administration transferred a very large number to disciplinary cells, while they started a collective hunger strike.
The violations detainees are subjected to include banning food from families to prisoners and banning the entry of medicines and any goods available in the canteen.
The families of the detainees confirmed that they face abuse and insults during visits to their detained family members, while most of the families were prevented from visits in the past few days.
A leaked message from detainees in Burj Al Arab prison had accused a State Security officer, Hamza Al-Masry, of harassing them by preventing visits, food and exercise.
The Egyptian authorities are detaining thousands of people, in politically motivated arrests. Many of the political detainees have been sentenced in unfair trials, or have been detained without trial for years on unfounded terrorism charges, in extremely poor detention conditions.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights stipulates that “prisoners deprived of their liberty should be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human personality,” which requires international intervention to put pressure on the Egyptian authorities to stop the violations detainees are subjected to in prisons and detention centres.
