Human rights activists on Sunday have launched a campaign on social networking sites to save Egyptian detainees as a deadly heatwave hits the country.
The campaign organizers said in a statement “While many suffer from extreme high-temperatures, Egyptian prisoners suffer even more inside their prisons”.
Human rights organisations estimate that nearly 40,000 Egyptians are detained over political views which are denied by the Egyptian authorities.
The campaign statement cited detainees who were recently released as saying that more than 40 prisoners are detained inside a cell that could host only 20.
“Some cells have no ventilation except for a small window” they said.
According to the statement, families of the detainees also suffer while trying to visit their relatives, either through walking in the intense heat or while waiting for hours outside the prison gates to be allowed entry.
The Egyptian health ministry warned Sunday citizens of the heatwave that hit the country, calling on people to take precautionary measures to avoid heat stress.
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