CAIRO: Seven Egyptian Human Rights Associations signed an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, Interior Minister Mansour el-Eisawy and the Supreme Council of Armed Force (SCAF). The letter draws attention on the dangerous security and health conditions in Egyptian prisons, urging the highest political authorities to address the topic. The letter was published on the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies' website, and signed by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, El Nadim Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and Torture, Hisham Mubarak Law Center, New Woman Foundation and the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights. The letter draws attention on the terrible health and security condition in a number of Egyptian prisons, namely al-Qatta el-Gedid in Giza, Shebin el-Kom in Monofeia and the Tora prison complex. A main worrying fact is that prison guards are confined to the prisons' main towers, failing to extend their control inside the prison buildings. This normally leads to violent incidents, one of which recently involved the killing of al-Qatta prisoner Ibrahim Fathi on March 18. Security conditions are exacerbated by two main issues – the smuggling of knives and drugs inside some prisons, and the meager and irregular distribution of food, which is likely to increase the incidence of fights between prisoners. According to prisoners, officers are involved in the smuggling of drugs and knives inside prisons. The letter demands the Interior Ministry and Prison Authority to carry out urgent investigations around health conditions, restore security presence in prisons, instigate disciplinary measures and restore the use of prison hospitals. Lawyer for the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsoud denounced worrying conditions in Burg el-Arab prison near Alexandria, in 2010. There, many “prisoners of conscience” from the MB were detained without legal trial under the rule of Emergency Laws. “A cell that is three or four square meters accommodates 13 or 14 people, and this helps in the spread of diseases. And they don't get the necessary health care so the health conditions of the prisoners is bad,” declared Maqsoud. Cairo prison El-Marg became sadly famous in 2009 following the case of MB member Ayman Ibrahim el-Desouki, who nearly died in almost complete lack of medical attention. Yet, for most political prisoners, treatment and conditions depend on a their political group's relationship with the government. Consequently, prison conditions for MB members are relatively good compared to those of criminals, “terrorists” or other categories. Human Rights Watch interviewed a Palestinian detainee who managed to escape from prison in February 2011, during the uprisings that led to Mubarak's ouster. He reported of violent armed confrontations between detainees trying to break from prison and security guards hiding in the prison's main tower, shooting at any prisoner outside the cells. This amounts to a thorough violation of UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms, as these principles declare that Law Enforcement Officials may use lethal force only when strictly unavoidable. Many Palestinians were detained without charge or legal trial, according to the Emergency Law declare in 1981 following President Anwar el-Sadat's assassination, and never revoked throughout Mubarak's 30 years long presidency. During the January popular uprising, thousands escaped from jail as ex-Interior Minister Habib el-Adly ordered the openings of state prisons in order to disseminate chaos and anarchy in the country. As many escapees have been arrested again, it is widely believed that a large number of fugitives still enjoy freedom. In related news, 14 Palestinian illegal detainees were released from Egyptian prisons on Sunday, following talks between the SCAF and Hamas. Reportedly, 20 Palestinians are still illegally detained in Egypt. BM
