• EGYPT
  • September 25, 2016
  • 3 minutes read

Beheira Natrun Detainees Victimized by Prison Authorities

Beheira Natrun Detainees Victimized by Prison Authorities

Families of detainees at Valley Natrun annex in Beheira said their loved ones suffered severe violations since the end of Eid al-Adha two weeks ago. Wardens search and confiscate all belongings of detainees, pouring insults and beating them harshly.


For several days running, wardens stormed the detainees’ cells masked and brandishing batons and sticks in their faces. Wardens then forced each of them to stand facing a wall, with hands behind his back. Those who even hesitated in obeying these instructions suffered merciless beatings with sticks.


The Prisons Department let wardens confiscate all property of the detainees in the cells, including clothes, food, blankets, mats and beddings – leaving each detainee with nothing but the clothes he had on.


As detainees tried to contain the anger of wardens in charge of the search and seizure operations, they were insulted, humiliated and brutally beaten with batons.


The detainees’ families revealed how their loved ones suffered extreme overcrowding in cells, as well as dangerously poor ventilation. Every cell is packed with more than 30 political prisoners, while officially they are designed to hold 15 detainees at the most. There also is no lighting in the cells at all.


Moreover, the detainees are regularly blackmailed by low-ranking wardens and officers, to allow them to take from their own relatives food and clothes in visits to replace confiscated ones. If they do not or will not pay, the detainee’s family is also treated in an inhumane manner, insulted and humiliated by those thugs.


The detainees’ families urged local and international human rights organizations to quickly expose those violations and to put pressure on military coup authorities to stop these crimes against the detainees.