Egypt’s ex-presidential candidate refuses family visitation rights

Head of the Strong Egypt Party, Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, has refused his family visitation rights due to the severe restrictions imposed by Egyptian prison authorities, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported yesterday.

Aboul Fotouh’s son, Huthaifa, wrote on Facebook: “Today, during the court hearing, my father told us that he had stopped accepting family visits because of the new changes.”

Egyptian authorities no longer allow face-to-face meetings between the prisoners and their families. Instead, prisoners meet with their families from behind a glass barrier and they speak with each other through a telephone.

“We attempted to visit my father three times over the last week,” Huthaifa said. “At the end, on Thursday, the prison administration told us that my father had refused the visitation without giving us reasons.”

“We were told that he refused the visitation in Tora Prison … unless direct meetings are allowed.”

“My father has been held in remand in solitary confinement since February 2018,” he added.

He added that his father is “suffering from medical negligence as he suffered a slipped disc for the second time and was not treated.”

READ: Egypt: Ex-presidential hopeful’s health deteriorating in prison, lawyer says