FEDA urges UN and European Parliament to take urgent action to protect hunger-striking detainees in Egyptian prisons

The Families of Egyptian Detainees Association (FEDA) has called on the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) to take urgent action following reports of hunger strikes and collective protests among detainees in several Egyptian prisons, particularly during 7th–9th October. The association warned of potential risks to detainees’ lives and health amid reported restrictions on fundamental rights and concerns over access to medical care.

In an urgent appeal dated 10th October 2026, FEDA urged the UN Working Group to seek clarification from the Egyptian authorities regarding the reported hunger strikes and the grievances behind them, and to take appropriate steps within its mandate to protect detainees from death, serious injury, ill-treatment, and reprisals for participating in peaceful protests.

As part of its international advocacy efforts concerning the situation of detainees in Egypt, FEDA has also sent similar letters to the European Parliament, urging urgent attention to detainees’ conditions, action to protect hunger strikers, and efforts to end reported violations in Egyptian prisons. The association called for respect for detainees’ fundamental rights, particularly the rights to life, healthcare, family visits, and a fair trial.

According to information received by FEDA, which the association says it is continuing to verify, the protests have been linked to deteriorating detention conditions, repeated alleged violations of detainees’ basic rights, and the absence of effective remedies for their complaints. Reports have referred to protests in several places of detention, including Minya, Abu Zaabal, Badr, the Tenth of Ramadan, and New Valley prisons. FEDA stressed that the level of available information and documentation varies between facilities.

Restrictions on family visits, exercise, and medical care

FEDA identified the main grievances reported by detainees and their families as the denial or severe restriction of family visits, deprivation of outdoor exercise and sunlight, obstruction or delay of necessary medical treatment, and prolonged pretrial detention in cases reportedly extending beyond applicable legal limits.

The association also expressed concern that despair arising from years of detention and repeated legal proceedings without a final resolution has led some detainees to resort to hunger strikes as a means of protesting their conditions and demanding that their grievances be addressed.

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FEDA warned that hunger strikes can cause serious health complications, particularly for detainees with chronic illnesses or those denied adequate medical monitoring. It also called for scrutiny of reports of security interventions, detainee transfers, communication restrictions, and confiscation of personal belongings, stressing that such measures must not be used to punish individuals for peaceful protest.

Postponement of the new Criminal Procedure Code adds to detainees’ concerns

FEDA linked the growing frustration among detainees to prolonged pretrial detention and the postponement of Egypt’s new Criminal Procedure Code, Law No. 174 of 2025. The Code had been scheduled to enter into force on 1 October 2026, but its implementation was postponed for one year, until October 2027, according to the information cited in the appeal.

The association said that some detainees had hoped the new Code’s provisions concerning pretrial detention would lead to a review of their legal status or their release. The postponement, it argued, has deepened frustration among those who have already spent extended periods in custody.

FEDA stressed that postponement of the new Code should not justify detention beyond the limits established by the legislation currently in force. It called for the review of cases in which detainees may have exceeded applicable legal limits and for scrutiny of any use of successive cases or repeated proceedings to circumvent those limits and prolong detention.

FEDA concluded its appeal by urging urgent action to prevent further harm and address concerns regarding arbitrary and prolonged detention in Egypt. It also called on international and human rights institutions to monitor the situation of hunger strikers and work to ensure the protection of their fundamental rights.

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