An Egyptian human rights activist described the situation in Egyptian prisons as “very bad”, noting that it is, at the same time, “witnessing a relative improvement than was the case before 2011”.
Saeed Abdul Hafiz, who heads the Dialogue Forum for Human Development and Human Rights, said in an interview with Quds Press that the Egyptian authorities are going to build new prisons to avoid the overcrowding which currently mars the existing prisons.
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He denied that the move is coming in the context of repressive policies by the state, noting that the increase in the number of prisons does not mean that the number of prisoners will necessarily increase.
He believes that the rise in violations and cases of abuse taking place inside detention centres and the deterioration of medical and living conditions are the main reasons behind the plan to increase the number of prisons in the country.
The US Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Sarah Sewall recently criticised the Egyptian prisons.
Sewall, who is currently on a visit in Egypt, said that what is worrying Washington is the torture, overcrowding and the extension of pre-trial detention. She added that her country is strongly committed to supporting Egypt to achieve stability.
See below MEMO’s infographic on Egypt’s #DeathChambers
40 prisoners died in #Egypt’s prisons in August. This week, we look at the causes of their deaths…Also read Yvonne…
Posted by Middle East Monitor on Wednesday, October 7, 2015
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