The Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners HRAAP Campaign

Hand in Hand…Egypt without Torture

Cairo: 26/5/2004

On the fifth day of the hunger strike of some detainees in Al-Gharbaneyat, prison

The Prison administration release one of the strikers and to let a lawyer from the association to visit four of the detainees under the allegation that they are not present in the prison

In a new development concerning the incident of the hunger strike of 56 Egyptian and Palestinian detainees in Al-Gharbaneyat prison that began in 22/5/2004 as a protest against maltreatment in the prison and not providing the appropriate medical care for most of them, although they suffer from serious diseases require intensive care. The health conditions of four detainees have deteriorated as a result of the determination of the Ministry of Interior to detain them although they have got many release orders. The four detainees are Ibrhim Abdel-Hady, Mohamed Hussein Hasan Awwad, Mahmoud Abdel-Ra'of Al-Mabhoh and Mohamed Hussein Hallag. They have been transferred to prison's hospital.

They have been negotiated and fell under stress to put an end to strike by some leaders of the prison. All these negotiations failed because the strikers requested to meet a delegation from the ministry of Interior in addition to some representatives of human rights organizations in Al-Gharbaneyat prison to explain reasons of strike.

In this respect, HRAAP has sent a fact-finding delegation to the prison after getting an official permit issued by the technical office for the Attorney General to visit four strikers. The strikers are Abdel-Fattah Olwy Ahmed, Ibrahim Abdel-Hady Ali, Wesam Mamdouh Abdel-Gaber Al-Nahhal and Zeyad Nemr Al-Kashash. Although, the association has got a visitation permit the prison administration refused to allow them under the allegation that they are not present in the prison three days ago because they have been released and they are now in t he office of the State Security belonging to t heir residence and that is what the families of those detainees denied especially one of them called Ibrahim Abdel-Hady Ibrahim  was mentioned with the four detainees whose health conditions deteriorated so much and delivered to the hospital of the prison two days ago. So, this prevention increases fears of the association for fear of deteriorating the conditions of those detainees or exposing them to internal pressures to put an end to this strike. On the other hand, the prison administration actually released one of the strikers called Ahmed Isma'el Ahmed, he id ehyyptian and afflicted with paralysis.

The human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners