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Egypt is killing detainees by denying them medical care, rights group says

February 5, 2021 at 2:54 pm

An Egyptian police officer enters the Tora prison in the Egyptian capital Cairo on 11 February 2020 [KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images]

The Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) has today condemned the Egyptian regime of General turned President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s denial of adequate medical treatment for detainees in its prisons.

In a statement AOHR UK highlighted the case of three prisoners who died within 24 hours of each other as a result of a lack of adequate medical care while in prison.

“The authorities, aware of their prisoners’ critical conditions, did not attempt to improve the circumstances of their detention in any way before their deaths,” the statement said.

Authorities in Egypt, it continued, “have not addressed the COVID-19 emergency in the manner required, nor have they followed the globally-advised preventative measures needed to avoid an increase of the number of cases within detention facilities.”

“Detainees already suffer from overcrowding, poor nutrition, and poor healthcare provision,” while authorities continue “imprisoning political opponents, without a trial, for exercising their legitimate rights,” it explained.

The rights group called on the international community to pressure Egypt to those arbitrarily-detained, especially women, the aged and the sick.

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