Egypt’s Akrab prison tightens grip on inmates

Conditions at one of Egypt’s most notorious prisons have severely deteriorated after improving briefly in the past few days.

Akrab prison in Tora is a maximum-security facility used for political prisoners, who include Muslim Brotherhood and April 6 leaders, as well as political activists.

Sources have informed Al-Mesryoon news website that the prison administration now only allowed visit of five minutes to the family of inmates, reduced from half an hour a few days ago.

According to the sources, the prison administration deliberately delays the visitors till the last minute then allows a small number of them to enter and deprives many inmates from visits.

The inmates are allowed only one hour of exercise inside a closed yard, the sources added.

According to the sources, prisoners suffer from severe cold and do not have enough blankets to protect them, especially after guards confiscated their underwear and forced them to buy new clothes from the prison canteen.

Those who cannot afford to buy new clothes are forced to endure the extreme low temperatures, the sources explained, adding that only certain clothes and food are allowed into the prison.

They described the food as bad and inadequate.