Interior Minister General Magdy Abdel Ghaffar met Tuesday with head of the semi-independent National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) Mohamed Faek, to discuss cooperation between the two entities in order to "highlight respect of human rights". According to a statement by the Ministry of Interior, the visit is part of the ministry's care of human rights. During the visit, Abdel Ghaffar said that the ministry's policy "is serious and transparent, and shows true intentions in developing the field of human rights". The minister added that convicts in prisons are subjected to programmes to "rehabilitate in order to interact with society". On the other hand, Faek praised the ministry's "efforts to elevate the organisation of prisons", while asserting NCHR's tendency to support all police sectors. Despite criticism from local and international rights groups of the status of prisoners in detention centres, the ministry dismisses all accusations. El Nadeem Centre for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence published its August report regarding human rights violations inside detention facilities, ranging from murder to torture, medical negligence and enforced disappearances. On Al-Aqrab, the maximum security Tora Prison, the report recounts testimonies from the families of the detainees, detailing the violations and mistreatment that they suffer. Reported violations include medical negligence, inadequate or lack of nutrition, and degrading measures like stripping detainees of their clothes. During August, El Nadeem documented 56 deaths inside detention facilities, 57 torture cases, 44 cases of medical negligence and 38 cases of enforced disappearances.
