The Committee for Justice (CFJ) has documented that dozens of political detainees in New Valley Prison have begun an open‑ended hunger strike since Friday, 6 February, in protest against deteriorating living conditions and the continued cruel and inhuman treatment inside the facility.
According to CFJ, the hunger strike was triggered by the prison administration’s failure to honor previous commitments to transfer political detainees back to facilities closer to their governorates of residence. The strike also comes amid worsening detention conditions and serious violations affecting detainees. Testimonies indicate that among those on hunger strike are several political detainees, including Abdullah Al‑Amri and Mohamed Khaled.
CFJ further documented that tensions escalated dramatically inside the prison following an attempted suicide by a political detainee identified as Mostafa Ali, who was rescued moments before his death—an incident that reflects the severe psychological pressure and repressive treatment faced by political detainees inside the facility.
The committee stressed that keeping political detainees in New Valley Prison, located deep in the Western Desert, inflicts severe humanitarian harm on their families. Relatives from Greater Cairo, the Delta, Alexandria, Aswan, and Luxor must endure dangerous desert routes and travel distances exceeding 1,500 kilometers round‑trip, at extremely high cost and risk to their safety, for visits that often last no more than ten minutes.
As a result, many families have been forced to stop visits entirely, leaving children unable to see their detained parents—constituting a clear violation of the right to family contact and the basic humanitarian standards established in both national law and international norms governing the treatment of prisoners.
CFJ calls for an immediate end to collective punitive measures and the urgent fulfillment of detainees’ legitimate demands. The committee further urges the improvement of detention conditions in New Valley Prison, ensuring humane treatment, guaranteeing access to essential rights such as medical care and regular communication with families, and taking swift steps to prevent further deterioration that may place the lives of hunger‑striking detainees at imminent risk.