With the high number of deaths in prisons and various places of detention in Egypt, the concern of patients’ families who resort to blogging as a last resort to save their relatives from the specter of death that threatens them behind the walls of imprisonment and detention is multiplying. On social media, and by sending appeals to civil society organizations, a number of families of patients imprisoned on the background of political issues wrote appeals, especially those with malignant tumors.
Recently, Egyptian and international human rights organizations, including the Arab Organization for Human Rights, have denounced the increase in deaths in Egyptian prisons due to deliberate medical negligence, which is increasing, and said that if the matter is not remedied by improving the conditions of detainees and providing them with the necessary medical care, especially for those who suffer from chronic diseases, “we are on the verge of a disaster.”
The organization stated that during the current year alone, 12 political prisoners lost their lives tragically due to medical negligence and the harsh conditions of detention suffered by those detained in opposition cases. It pointed out that this figure reflects the worsening health care crisis inside prisons in Egypt and highlights the deliberate disregard for the basic human rights of detainees.
The organization stated that “the number of those who lost their lives as a result of the appalling conditions of detention and denial of medical care since the current regime took power in 2014 has reached at least 1020 cases, noting that the number is likely to increase due to the increasing distress cases that are received from detainees and their families to save them before it is too late after the deterioration of the situation.” The health condition of a large number of them, and the refusal to implement the Egyptian prison regulation law by releasing political prisoners whose health condition has reached a dangerous stage that cannot be remedied by treatment in their detention facilities or prison hospitals.
The organization stated that the high number of deaths confirms “the regime’s disregard for the lives of the dissidents who fill its prisons, and its disregard for recommendations and repeated human rights appeals by international organizations and civil society organizations to improve conditions, which are met by the Egyptian regime with disregard, denial, or indifference.”
The organization emphasized that the death of prisoners as a result of medical negligence “amounts to the crime of intentional homicide, as the authorities did not take the necessary measures to preserve the lives of those who suffered from diseases as a result of improper detention, or who have been ill with serious diseases since their arrest and whose condition has worsened as a result of medical negligence.” The organization called on the international community, especially the countries that have relations with the Egyptian regime, to intervene urgently to address the crisis of political prisoners in Egypt, to save the lives of tens of thousands, and to take effective steps to ensure the provision of appropriate medical care for all prisoners.
