Egypt’s ex-presidential candidate brutally attacked in Tora Prison

Egypt’s former presidential candidate and leader of the Strong Egypt Party has been assaulted in his prison cell, according to a Facebook post written by his family.

According to the post, Aboul Fotouh was attacked by guards after trying to file a complaint about why he was refused family visits.

Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh was arrested in February 2018 with six other Strong Party members and accused of leading an outlawed group, harming national interests and spreading false news inside Egypt and abroad.

The Cairo Criminal Court placed him on a terror list for five years, banned from travelling and froze his assets.

Aboul Fotouh has denied all charges against him and said that he ceased to be a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2000.

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Aboul Fotouh ran in the 2012 presidential elections and has previously criticised the Egyptian government.

In media interviews he called for a boycott of the presidential elections and criticised the atmosphere of fear around the electoral process.

In July last year his son announced that he had suffered a heart attack in jail and that prison guards just watched as he cried for help from his cell in Tora Prison.

Abdoul Fotouh, who is also the former Secretary-General of the Arab Doctors Union, has been denied medical care throughout his detention, including for spinal pain.

The former presidential candidate has been held in pretrial detention for three and a half years though under Egyptian law detainees can be held on remand for a maximum of two years. He appeared in court for the first time in November 2021.

In January this year the UN expressed “deep concern” about Aboul Fotouh’s life-threatening health condition and the conditions of his detention, including solitary confinement and no adequate access to sunlight or fresh air.