The organizations of the “Article 55” Coalition issued their monthly periodic bulletin, highlighting the most significant human rights, legal, and judicial developments in Egypt during November 2025, along with a detailed monitoring of violations committed inside prisons and detention facilities under the control of Egyptian security authorities.
The “Article 55” Coalition continued to document grave violations within prisons and detention centers in Egypt, amid the persistence of a policy of impunity and disregard for the constitutional guarantees enshrined in Article (55) of the Egyptian Constitution, which prohibits torture and physical or psychological harm and mandates respect for the dignity of detainees. This month reflected a deepening crisis on political, economic, and human rights levels; parliamentary elections held in two phases during November confirmed the absence of genuine competitiveness, following direct interference by the Head of State in the electoral process, reports of irregularities, and subsequent annulment of voting results in numerous constituencies, exposing the lack of independence of the National Election Authority and its subordination to the executive power.
On the economic front, pressures mounted with the arrival of the International Monetary Fund mission to review Egypt’s compliance with reform commitments, amid expectations of price hikes and the sale of public assets, in addition to the signing of a major agreement to import liquefied natural gas worth four billion dollars, signaling further burdens on citizens.
From a human rights perspective, security crackdowns and judicial harassment against human rights defenders persisted. Attorney Rofeida Mohamed El-Sayed was arrested and placed in pretrial detention, alongside the arrest of cassation lawyer Osama Fathy El-Sheshtawy on vague charges, while attorney Ahmed Nazir El-Helou completed three years behind bars under continued pretrial detention without a fair trial, suffering enforced disappearance and medical neglect. Researcher Ismail El-Iskandarani and writer Hany Sobhy also had their detention renewed, as did journalist Safaa El-Korbeigy, who faces severe health deterioration without receiving necessary medical care. These practices underscore the systematic use of pretrial detention as a punitive tool and reveal violations of the right to health care and the right to a fair trial.
In a related context, the coalition documented four deaths inside detention facilities during the same month, under circumstances indicating gross medical negligence, in addition to restrictions on detainees’ right to communicate with the outside world and the denial of visits in certain cases, constituting a clear breach of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. Furthermore, the labor sector witnessed a wave of protests and strikes across several companies and institutions, demanding the implementation of minimum wage standards and improved working conditions amid deteriorating economic and social circumstances.
These violations, ranging from medical neglect and arbitrary detention to restrictions on fundamental rights, represent a serious breach of the Egyptian Constitution and international obligations, underscoring the urgent need for independent investigations, accountability for those responsible, and guarantees for the inherent rights of detainees, foremost among them the right to life, physical and psychological integrity, the right to health care, and the right to a fair trial, ensuring the preservation of human dignity.
In light of the above, the “Article 55” Coalition calls for an immediate investigation into these violations and the prosecution of those responsible in accordance with Egyptian law and relevant international standards, with full adherence to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, the Egyptian Prison Regulations, and the cessation of all practices contrary thereto, while ensuring the provision of the basic conditions for a dignified life that safeguards the humanity of detainees.
Article 55 Coalition
- Committee for Justice
- El-Shehab Center for Human Rights
- Egyptian Network for Human Rights
- Najda for Human Rights
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