Death looms for thousands of detainees in Egyptian prisons

Human rights activists said hundreds of detainees in Egyptian prisons suffer health problems. This is due to their ill-treatment deprivation of medical treatment and care.

The detainees’ lawyers are facing problems recording health conditions in the prosecution records.

The health of Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, head of Strong Egypt Party, is deteriorating inside his prison cell, according to his son.

Ahmad Aboul Fotouh wrote on Facebook that, “the prison’s administration prevented him from going to the hospital and access to medicine. He suffers angina pectoris, cartilage and prostate inflammation and heart disorders.”

According to Rasha Abbas, her brother Wael Abbas – an Egyptian blogger and journalist – “has been in a state of extreme fatigue and high temperature.”

On May 23, Cairo security forces arrested Abbas after searching his house. A 24 hours after his arrest they sentenced him to 15-day imprisonment. Rasha Abbas added they had learned of Wael’s illness when they visited him in the prison.

Another detainee, Gamal Abdel Fattah, has had his detention for 15 days pending an investigation, according to Ahmed Abdul Latif, a lawyer at the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.

Abdul Latif added: “Fattah’s health condition deteriorated. He could not even walk to attend the hearings. He asked to take the elevator instead of the stairs because he could not move.”

Latif went on, “We asked the chief prosecutor to release him, send him to a hospital and prepare a medical report on his health condition. But, the chief prosecutor refused articulate the request at the hearing.”

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Moataz Wadnan, a journalist, suffers deteriorating health conditions. Wadnan interviewed Adviser Hisham Geneina about documents that condemn the country’s leadership. Wadnan began a hunger strike to protest against ill-treatment inside Scorpio Prison and has lost weight.

According to Amr Mohammed, a lawyer, “the prison administration injects Wadnan with a solution to increase his blood glucose. This has made him suffer from severe pain and led to a nervous system dysfunction that made him unable to stand on his feet or control his nerves.”

Mai Hamed, a Lawyer at the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, described the deteriorating health of activist, Rami Al-Sayyid. A member of the April 6 Youth Movement, who was imprisonment for 10 years on charges of protesting.

Amal Fathi, an activist, suffers bipolar depression, which poses a threat to her life, according to a statement by the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms. The prison doctor confirmed it has paralyzed that her left leg.

Mohammed Adel, a leader at April 6 Youth Movement, announced a hunger strike at Mansoura Public Prison. This is in protest against his imprisonment with criminals. He confirmed that his health condition is deteriorating.

Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, Chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, has lost weight in solitary confinement for 275 days, according to his daughter.

In June 2017, the Egyptian authorities arrested Ola Al-Qaradawi and her husband, Hossam Khalaf, on the grounds of belonging to an outlawed group.

According to human rights reports approximately 60,000 people are detained in Egyptian prisons. Most of them suffer difficult humanitarian conditions. Scores of them have died due to malnutrition and deprivation of receiving medical treatment.