The organizations participating in the “Article 55 Coalition” have released their monthly report, which addresses the most notable human rights, political, and judicial developments in Egypt during September 2024. The report focuses on highlighting the conditions of detainees inside detention facilities and facilities across the country, amid increasing violations and the continued deterioration of human rights within these facilities. This comes in the context of escalating social, political, and economic tensions, as well as regional consequences, including the intensification of the war in Lebanon and its impact on the internal situation in Egypt.
– Updates on the Egyptian situation in September 2024:
September 2024 witnessed growing social tensions, most notably the strike by the workers of “Samannoud Textiles” demanding the implementation of the minimum wage. Additionally, the death of young man Diaa Al-Shami was recorded after he fell from the ninth-floor balcony of his apartment in the Faisal area of Giza. According to his family’s account, a police force from the Qasr al-Nil Police Station caused his death after torturing and intimidating him during an interrogation in his apartment.
The month also saw violent clashes on Al-Warraq Island between residents and security forces after residents protested the assault of three of the island’s young men by an officer. Security forces responded with birdshot and tear gas, leading to injuries among the residents.
The proposed new Criminal Procedure Law sparked significant concerns among human rights defenders, journalists, and lawyers. Both the Journalists Syndicate and the Bar Association criticized the draft law, which experts described as Egypt’s “second constitution.” The law includes proposals that threaten defense rights and press freedoms, leading to widespread opposition to its passage in its current form.
On the international level, the United States decided to provide Egypt with its full military aid for the first time since 2020, without withholding any part due to human rights violations. This decision comes in light of Egypt’s role in mediating ceasefire efforts in Gaza.
Meanwhile, 34 human rights organizations called for the charges against detained journalists in Egypt to be dropped, highlighting the torture and severe violations they are subjected to. These organizations also demanded an end to the blocking of news websites and the targeting of journalists’ families.
– Violations inside detention facilities – September 2024:
The Article 55 Coalition documented several severe violations inside Egyptian prisons and detention facilities during September 2024, including:
– Four deaths were recorded inside detention facilities and prisons.
– The coalition received an appeal from the family of prisoner Mohamed Nagm Ali Mohamed Badr, who is being held in the high-security Gamasa Prison 4, due to repeated physical and psychological assaults. Another appeal came from Ismail Alaa Abdel Azim, detained in Liman Minya Prison, whose health has deteriorated due to tuberculosis, and who remains isolated in solitary confinement without receiving necessary medical treatment.
– Reports were also received about severe violations inside Borg Al-Arab Prison, where a National Security officer named “Hamza Al-Masri” arbitrarily relocated a large number of detainees and imposed harsh measures, including cutting off electricity to cells and confiscating personal belongings.
– Additionally, a sexual assault and torture incident was documented involving detainee Rabee Saeed Hassan Mohamed Nasr in the Sidi Gaber Police Station in Alexandria. He was beaten, electrocuted, and raped to coerce him into becoming an informant for the police.
– Demands to end violations:
In light of these developments, the organizations in the “Article 55 Coalition” believe that the conditions inside prisons and detention facilities are not surprising and fall within the broader framework of how Egyptian authorities handle detainees—especially political ones. These practices are systematic, not isolated incidents, as the Egyptian Ministry of Interior often claims.
The culture of impunity that Egyptian authorities grant to human rights violators inside detention facilities has encouraged and perpetuated such practices, making them a standard operating procedure for the Egyptian Prison Authority. Despite well-documented violations, no leader or official has ever been punished or even reprimanded for these abuses.
The organizations in the Article 55 Coalition affirm that these practices inside Egyptian prisons and detention facilities raise serious concerns about the fate of detainees, especially given the rising number of deaths in these facilities recently and the deteriorating living conditions within them.
Therefore, the organizations call for an investigation into these violations and for those responsible to be held accountable in accordance with both Egyptian and international law. They also demand the enforcement of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and Egypt’s own prison regulations, ensuring humane living conditions for detainees
