President, Interior Ministry Reps And NHCR Discuss Egypt’s Prisons

Interim President Adly Mansour met Wednesday with members of the National Council for Human Rights together with interior ministry representatives to discuss the state of prisons in Egypt.

The meeting was attended by NCHR head Mohamed Faeq, deputy head Abdel-Ghafar Shokr and secretary general Mokhales Qutb as well as Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim, Interior Minister Assistant for Human Rights Abu-Bakr Abdel-Kareem, Presidential Constitutional Advisor Ali Awad and Presidential Strategic Advisor Mostafa Hegazy.

In the four hour meeting, NHCR members presented complaints filed with them on the state of Egyptian prisons, presidential spokesperson Ihab Badawy explained in a media statement.

Complaints discussed included violations during arrest, detention or imprisonment, the deteriorated conditions of prisons, and the lack of facilities in prison hospitals. The NHCR also discussed the state of juvenile detention, the new protest law and the situation of foreign journalists.

Allegations of police violations as well as torture have been on the rise over recent months. Activists have given testimonies of torture, complained of random arrest, and punitive detention.

Journalists have also complained of being targetted by police while covering violent events. Last week, two journalists were severely injured covering clashes between university students and security forces. Last month, a Dostour newspaper journalist, Mayada Ashraf, was shot dead while covering clashes.

Some 20 journalists, including 16 Egyptians and four foreigners, face trial on accusations of aiding a terrorist organisation, in reference to the Muslim Brotherhood that was designated by the government a terrorist group in December 2013.

Source : Ahram online