Egypt: third prisoner dies in two weeks due to medical negligence

An Egyptian prisoner has died in prison due to medical negligence, less than 24 hours after the death of another detainee in similar circumstances, a human rights group has revealed. According to the Egyptian Network for Human Rights, Magdy Abdo Al-Shabrawi, 58, died after his condition deteriorated badly in the Badr Prison Complex. His family was apparently informed of his death on Monday.

The Network quoted informed sources as saying that Al-Shabrawi was in so much pain from kidney failure that he could no longer eat or drink. His suffering was exacerbated by the miserable conditions of his detention, which did not improve when he and other prisoners were transferred from the maximum security Scorpion Prison to the Badr Prison Complex.

The sources pointed out the lack of appropriate medical and health care and the prison administration’s refusal to provide the necessary medicines. He was deprived of family visits and prevented from exercising in the sunlight and fresh air for more than two and a half years while in the notorious Scorpion Prison.

According to human rights organisations, Al-Shabrawi is the second political prisoner to die in Egypt’s prisons this week, and the third within the past three weeks. On Tuesday, it was announced that Shaaban Muhammad Sayed Al-Khouli, 56, had died in Al-Qanater Prison, also due to poor detention conditions and lack of medical care.

Local and international human rights organisations estimate that nearly 60,000 political prisoners are detained in Egypt. The authorities claim that there are no political prisoners in the country.

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