A member of the Egyptian Lawyer's Syndicate, Abdel Aziz al-Derini, recently visited Tora Prison and verified prison officers' testimony regarding communications between members of the formerly ruling regime now imprisoned there. Many businessmen, politicians and former ministers from the regime of deposed president Hosni Mubarak are now being held in Tora Prison. Egyptian activists worry that the members of the foreign regime are plotting together in prison. The prisoners apparently meet each other very rarely, mostly during Friday prayers and during exercise time. Otherwise, prison guards ensure that it is difficult for the prisoners to meet. Some inmates do not go out for Friday prayers and all of them are avoiding meeting in one place, al-Derini said during an interview with Mona al-Shazly on the popular evening talk show ‘10 P.M.' Zakaria Azmy has become severely withdrawn and refuses to speak with anyone. Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, the sons of Egypt's deposed leader, do not speak with anyone except Hisham Talaat Mustafa, but not often. Al-Derini said Ahmed Ezz is ostracized in prison because many figures of the former regime blame him for their current situation. Al-Derini said the prison officers are overwhelmed by the situation they are in, marveling at the fact that they are surrounded by the former superpowers of Egyptian business and politics. The same men who formerly dictated every detail of their lives are now under the prison officer's command and submit quietly. For example, Alaa Mubarak opens his own food containers and submits to police officers for inspection without a fuss. Al-Derini said he felt a shiver down his spine when he passed the cells of the former president's sons. He remarked that the cells inhabited by Safwat el-Sherif, Ahmed Nazif and Azmi were formerly occupied by prominent members of Islamic groups such as Hassan Malek, Khairat al-Shater and Essam al-Erian. Al-Derini negated all rumors about discriminatory practices for members of the former regime and confirmed they all live like other prisoners and do not get special treatment. Tighter security measures were taken and al-Derini said there was no evidence of any form of luxury in the prison.
