Egypt: rights groups condemn death of pretrial detainee

After five years of unlawful pretrial detention, Ehab Masoud Juha, 51, died in Borg El-Arab Prison, Alexandria, on 4 November, following a severe decline in his health. “He’s dying in front of my eyes,” said Juha’s wife during a recent visit.

“Despite repeated pleas and appeals from his family, the Egyptian authorities effectively condemned him to death by denying him adequate treatment and medication and subjecting him to inhumane detention conditions,” said the Egyptian Network for Human Rights.

Political prisoner Juha, once able-bodied, had become wheelchair-bound due to untreated burns and fluid build-up in his lungs, among other issues. Appeals to transfer him to a prison hospital were ignored, while the authorities unlawfully renewed his pretrial detention for years beyond Egypt’s legal two-year limit, reported the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR).

#Egypt– Detainee Ihab Goha dies in prison after 5 years of pretrial detention

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— Arab Organisation (@AohrUk) November 6, 2024

The organisation condemned Juha’s death as medical negligence amounting to “murder by omission.” It called for an urgent investigation into the Prison Authority’s actions, noting that Juha’s case is part of a wider pattern of neglect affecting elderly detainees and students held in prolonged pretrial detention.

Juha was arrested in September 2019 and accused of joining an unlawful organisation and spreading false news. His case was linked to the “Independence Party Case”, with no substantial evidence presented against him.

The EIPR called on the Egyptian authorities to review pretrial detainees’ status, release those held beyond the legal limit, and ensure adequate healthcare for all detainees. Juha is survived by his wife and four children, who were deprived of any real contact with him during his detention.

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