125 prisoners released amid mounting criticism of poor jail conditions

Acting Prosecutor General Ali Amran announced on Wednesday that 125 people were released from prisons. The released were detained for questioning under the controversial Protest Law, reported privately owned newspaper Youm7.

Speaking with Mada Masr, lawyer Yasmin Hossam, said the identities of those released are as of yet unknown, but are expected tomorrow. According to Hossam, who visited the prosecution after the announcement, the prisoners are mainly students, and people suffering from chronic illnesses. Most were released from Tora Prison complex, including the infamous maximum security prison Al-Aqrab, which is located within the complex. Most of the released had not been charged with any crime.

Their release comes at a time when the government is under increasing pressure to improve the standards and transparency of prisons and police stations. The National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) published a report on August 10 claiming that overcrowding of prisons had increased by 400 percent since last year, with indications of an increase in prisoner deaths. In the last three months, the state has reported eight accidental deaths in prisons and police stations.

On Monday, the Interior Ministry officially denied the NCHR permission to inspect the maximum security Al-Aqrab Prison, a request the council claims was submitted before Ramadan. In July, Justice Minister Ahmed al-Zend lambasted the council’s work for “defending and sympathising with killers.”

Three prisoners died from extreme heat conditions in a police station in Qalyubia Governorate last Tuesday. Their deaths were the latest in a recent wave of high-profile inmate deaths attributed to poor prison conditions. In the last two months, at least five other prisoners were killed in Egyptian jails. Including leader of Jamaa Al-Islamiya Essam Derbala.

The United Nations’ ‘Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners’ includes an article concerning the climate of cells. Article 10 specifies: “All accommodation provided for the use of prisoners and in particular all sleeping accommodation shall meet all requirements of health, due regard being paid to climatic conditions and particularly to cubic content of air, minimum floor space, lighting, heating and ventilation.”