Muslim Brotherhood Senior Leader Sharqawi Dies Due to Medical Neglect in Junta Jail

Political prisoner Abdel-Azim Al-Sharqawi, member of the Muslim Brotherhood Guidance Bureau and member of the legitimate parliament for Nasser town in Beni Suef, died at a local hospital after spending 6 days in intensive care. He had been detained on June 2, 2015. Although he suffered many illnesses, he was not given any medicines since his arrest.

About a month ago, Sharqawi was transferred from the notorious Aqrab Prison to security department dungeons in Beni Suef. Prior to that, he had been detained at the headquarters of the National Security Agency, banned from receiving urgently needed treatment or medicines or even food suitable for his illnesses. This caused his health to deteriorate seriously.

Several human rights organizations have documented violations against Sharqawi; warned of the seriousness of conditions endangering his life; and demanded that he be transferred to a specialized hospital adequately equipped to save his life and that he should be released on medical ground.

On November 23, 2016, Abdel-Azim Al-Sharqawi suffered a stroke in harsh Aqrab Prison. The prison administration initially refused to let him be seen by the prison doctor or to transfer him to a hospital for proper treatment, but later transferred him to hospital after his health deteriorated.

Sharqawi was born on April 16, 1950, in the village of Ashmant, in Nasser town (Beni Suef governorate). He obtained a bachelor’s degree in agriculture in 1973 from Ain Shams University, and a Bachelor of Religious Origins degree in Hadith Department in 1997. He worked as an engineer in Fayoum Governorate, and as director of Animal production in Nasser town, and then as the director of the Agricultural Services Department of the Agricultural Directorate until retirement.