Abu Zaabal detainees issue statement denouncing inhumane conditions

Inmates at the Abu Zaabal Prison in Qalyubiya released a statement denouncing inhumane living conditions and demanding the release of detainee Ahmed Saad, who has reportedly been held in solitary confinement for the past 60 days.

The statement was purportedly smuggled out of the prison by a detainee’s family member, and was widely shared on social media on Thursday.

The statement described Saad’s solitary confinement cell as a small, poorly lit room that isn’t big enough to sleep in, with only minimal ventilation through a 5 centimeter opening around the door. Temperatures can reach up to 50 degrees Centigrade, the statement claimed, continuing that Saad has no access to a bathroom, and that hygienic conditions in are extremely poor. The statement also alleged that the room is located near a sewage facility and is infested with insects and rats.

Describing themselves as the “Zaabal Uprising,” the group of detainees declared a protest against the inhumane conditions inflicted upon Saad.

Saad is being held in Abu Zaabal on unknown charges. A state security officer moved him to solitary confinement two months ago, again for unknown reasons.

In March, 1,500 prisoners at Abu Zaabal declared a hunger strike to protest against their alleged mistreatment, and 70 detainees at the prison filed a complaint with the general prosecutor claiming they had been tortured.

The Ministry of Interior has repeatedly denied all reports of mistreatment and torture in Egypt’s prisons.