The Committee for Justice (CFJ) has issued a report documenting violations inside detention facilities in Egypt during the second half of 2025. The report documented 973 violations in at least 40 official and unofficial detention facilities across 17 Egyptian governorates during this period. It described the situation as a widespread and systematic pattern of grave violations of the rights to personal liberty, physical integrity, and fair trial guarantees, in violation of the Egyptian Constitution and the state’s international obligations.
According to the report, arbitrary deprivation of liberty topped the list of violations, accounting for nearly 81% of cases, with a total of 797 incidents. This was followed by 46 cases of enforced disappearance, 38 cases of denial of medical care, and 34 deaths inside detention facilities. The report also documented 33 violations related to poor detention conditions and 25 incidents of torture.
In terms of timing, July 2025 recorded the highest number of violations with 317 cases, followed by September with 216 cases, and August with 189 cases. The report noted that the highest rates of deaths in detention and extrajudicial killings were concentrated in August.
Geographically, Cairo Governorate accounted for approximately 75% of the documented violations. The highest number of deaths in detention facilities was recorded in Giza Governorate, particularly inside police stations.
The report indicated that public prisons, central prisons, and maximum-security prisons recorded the largest number of violations, especially regarding arbitrary detention, poor detention conditions, and medical negligence. Meanwhile, most deaths and cases of extrajudicial killings occurred inside police stations and police centers.
The report also documented repeated patterns of serious ill-treatment in several detention facilities, most notably in the Badr prison complex, New Valley prisons, Damietta prisons, Wadi El-Natrun prisons, and Borg El-Arab prisons. According to the report, this reflects a structural problem rather than isolated incidents.
Regarding victims’ data, the report clarified that the largest share of violations targeted pretrial detainees, with 602 violations recorded. Detainees held in cases overseen by the Supreme State Security Prosecution topped the list of victims with 671 violations, highlighting the central role of pretrial detention in producing these abuses.
The report further pointed to the targeting of specific groups, including political and party activists and medical professionals. Violations were also recorded against elderly detainees, as well as at least one minor in the context of enforced disappearance.
The report concluded that the violations documented during the second half of 2025 are not isolated incidents but reflect a policy based on excessive use of deprivation of liberty, expanded reliance on pretrial detention, and tolerance of torture and medical negligence in the absence of effective accountability. It called for urgent interventions to end these practices, ensure the protection of detainees, and hold those responsible accountable in order to uphold the rule of law and human rights.
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