Last month was a deadly one for prisoners in Egypt:

On August 1, Ezzat Salamouni, a leader of extremist group al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya, died inside Tora Liman Prison. His wife, Dua’a, accused the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and the Prison Service of causing his death intentionally. She said her husband became ill one week before his death, and was taken to the Kasr El Aini Hospital, but was taken back to prison without treatment.

Last month was a deadly one for prisoners in Egypt:

On August 1, Ezzat Salamouni, a leader of extremist group al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya, died inside Tora Liman Prison. His wife, Dua’a, accused the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and the Prison Service of causing his death intentionally. She said her husband became ill one week before his death, and was taken to the Kasr El Aini Hospital, but was taken back to prison without treatment.

“His health deteriorated on the same day, but there was no doctor in the prison, so a prisoner doctor was brought in. My husband was diagnosed with acute intestinal obstruction, which required an urgent cholecystectomy, but he was not hospitalized,” she said.

The MoI however refuted the allegation, announcing that Salamouni had been taken to the hospital of Tora Prison for bowel obstruction.

Also on August 1, Ahmad Ghozlan, 52, died in Aba’adiah Prison in Damanhur. “During our last visit to him, we noticed that his health was deteriorating, his temperature was suspiciously high and he suffered from continuous fatigue,” his family told Human Rights Watch. “The prison administration paid no attention to him and when he passed out, his cell mates demanded that he be transferred to the hospital. Throughout the five months of his arrest, he suffered very difficult detention conditions, and also struggled with hypertension.”

On August 2, Ramadan Badawi, 45, died in the Central Security Prison in Sohag. According to HRW, Badawi had symptoms of poisoning in early August. He had continuous vomiting, fever and diarrhea, which caused the prison administration to take him to the Sohag General Hospital, where he died a few hours later.

On August 4, Muhammad Shobikh died in the Imbaba Police Station in Giza. “He was tortured by policemen,” said Abdurrahman, his cousin. “He was taken to hospital but he died.” An MoI official statement said: “Preliminary investigations have concluded that he died because of an acute circulatory collapse as a result of having many diseases.”

On August 4, Morgan Salem, aka Abdulhakim Hassan – Abo Amr – died in the maximum security Aqrab Prison. His son, Amr, accused prison officials of maltreating his father and depriving him of his medicines. “This made him develop a coronary artery insufficiency and hypertension, which caused his health to deteriorate to death,” said Amr.

On August 7, Mahmoud Ali, 58, died. He had been arrested about a month earlier on charges of committing violence. According to his daughter, Norhan, he died in detention inside the Raml Police Station in Alexandria due to medical negligence.

On August 9, Muhammad Issam Darbaleh, head of the al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya Shura Council, died in the Aqrab Prison because he was denied treatment, according to a statement by the group, which was denied by the MoI.

Also on August 9, the Arab African Center (AAC) said Muhammad Mahdi Haggag, 48, died in the Raml Police Station in Alexandria because of medical ignorance. “The station commissioner and the detective refused to take Haggag to hospital in spite of his deteriorating health and deprived him of his medication for days, causing his death,” read a statement by the AAC.

On August 12, Rifa’at Gad, 56, died in Abu Zaabal Prison due to medical negligence, according to pro-Muslim Brotherhood websites and Facebook pages that indicated that he had diabetes and liver disorder, while, on the previous day, the prison administration left him suffer from fatigue and acute fever among stacked persons until he died.

On August 19, a Facebook page called Al7oriallgd3an – Freedom for the Brave – said Salah Abdulhafeez, 40, died in hospital having been tortured inside the Matariyyah Police Station.

On the same day, Gaber Muhammad, aka Abu Omeirah, died in Burg el Arab Prison, because of medical negligence, according to his brother. The judge had rejected the appeal of the defense to release him for health reasons. Muhammad’s health deteriorated badly causing him extreme motion difficulties.

Official denial

Deputy Minister of Interior for Prisons Major General Hassan Sohagai denied any cases of medical negligence inside Egyptian prisons, calling upon the public prosecutor to investigate all such cases.

“The health procedures of prisoners are being developed,” said Major General Sharif Jalal, representative of the Ministry of Interior (MoI) for Human Rights. “Prisoners are provided with medical care and preventive and remedial medicine, as well as programs for early detection of chronic diseases, such as the National Anti-AIDS Program. Inside the Egyptian prisons, there are 25 hospitals with 1,000 beds, as well as 96 clinics, 8 big fully-equipped operating rooms, natural treatment centers and 31 pharmacies supplied with all kinds of medications.”

Inadequate medical care

 “In many cases, prison administrations pretend that they do not have the medicines required,” said Ridha Mar’ee, head of the Criminal Justice Unit at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. “If this is the case, they should allow the family to bring in medicine during visits, but the administration refuses on the pretext that they do not know the nature of the medicine or that the doctor is not there to check them and determine if they might be let in. According to prison regulations, prisoners may have medication in prison, and the MoI shall provide them with all medicines needed.”

The real problem in prisons, says Mar’ee, is that medical equipment is not available. In addition, under the law, at least one doctor must be available in each hospital, but with the increasing number of prisoners, one doctor is not sufficient.

“Sick prisoners register their names to be examined by the doctor and wait for their turn which can take a long time. If a patient’s case is late, he might die, especially since the doctor is not always present. Moreover, transferring patients to hospitals, be it inside or outside the prison, is not the doctor’s call; he only writes a recommendation and submits it to the warden who makes the final decision. Security considerations always have priority,” he says.

Over crowded prisons lead to diseases

 “Arbitrary arrest, arrest on suspicion and long precautionary imprisonment lead to a large number of prisoners stacked in narrow cells,” said Suzan Fayyad, a doctor at the El Nadim Center for the Management and Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence (NCMRVV).

“This increases the prevalence of disease, especially with the deteriorating health system inside detention centers. Additionally, the MoI adopts the policy of distressing prisoners, whether through preventing them from receiving medicine, refusing to take them to hospitals or detaining them in the dirtiest cells as a means of punishment.”

More deaths by police under el Sisi

Last June, the NCMRVV issued a report titled ‘Account Statement’ marking the first anniversary of President Abdel Fattah el Sisi’s coming to power. The report observed the conditions of prisons and said that among the 272 cases of death in police custody under el Sisi, 97 were medical negligence cases of political and criminal prisoners. “Forty-eight of them died in prison, 17 cases due to acute circulatory collapse and 31 deaths under ambiguous circumstances,” read the report.

Last May, the National Council for Human Rights issued its annual report, covering the period from June 30, 2013, to December 31, 2014. It attributes most deaths to bad health and living conditions in prisons. However, it does not dismiss the possibility of torture. “Nothing proves that any of them died because of torture, but again nothing proves the opposite,” said the report.