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Egypt police fire tear gas at hunger strikers in prison

September 8, 2017 at 11:54 am

The Egyptian Coordination of Rights and Freedoms human rights organisation in Egypt has revealed that the Fayoum Prison administration used tear gas to force prisoners to end their strike, which they organised a week ago in protest of violations against their rights.

The Egyptian human rights organisation stated, “In a violation of the prisoners’ rights and safety in Damu Prison, located in Fayoum province, the prison administration attacked the prisoners by firing tear gas canisters into their cells in order to force them to end their hunger strike, which had been ongoing for seven consecutive days. They went on strike due to the administration’s cruelty and their lack of rights”.

The organisation noted in a report, “The Fayoum Prison prisoners staged a hunger strike in protest to their maltreatment seven days ago, after the new General Investigation Director, Amir Saqr, issued orders depriving them of medication, entry of food, and time outdoors”.

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Some prisoners have been exonerated or have served their time, but their detention has been renewed or they have been framed for crimes they did not commit in order to keep them in prison. Some prisoners are put in cells without toilets for days at a time, while visits were cancelled during the Eid holiday, according to the report.

The families of the prisoners have stated that they “will give their testimonies to the Fayoum attorney general and will not leave their family members as prey for the prison administration, which is slowly killing them”.

The families also urged human rights organisations to intervene to rescue their loved ones from the Damu Prison administration and to play their part [in helping] the people whose freedom and dignity they promote”.