Press release
Geneva – August 1, 2024
The Committee for Justice (CFJ) has monitored the death of a political detainee at the notorious El-Wadi al-Jaded Prison, located approximately 630 kilometers from Cairo, due to torture and inhumane treatment.
Harsh Exile and Catastrophic Detention Conditions
CFJ reported that political detainee Mohamed Zaki (40), died on Thursday, July 25, 2024, in his cell in Ward 2, known as Al-Masfaha. Zaki, originally from the Sharqia Governorate, was serving a life sentence in the case known in the media as the “Helwan Cell”. He was arrested in 2015 and transferred between numerous detention centers and prisons (Tora Reception, Wadi al-Natrun, Minya, and finally Wadi al-Natrun).
CFJ detailed that Zaki had been exiled from Minya Prison to El-Wadi al-Jaded as punishment, where he ultimately died due to prolonged torture and catastrophic detention conditions. These conditions led to severe psychological trauma, rendering him mute, amidst deliberate neglect by prison authorities regarding his health and psychological state. He received no medical or psychological assistance.
Calls for Investigation and Accountability
The Committee for Justice (CFJ) is calling for immediate, impartial, and transparent investigations into this death. CFJ demand that those responsible be held accountable to prevent impunity.
This incident brings the total number of deaths recorded by CFJ in Egyptian prisons and detention centers since the beginning of 2024 to 34. Accurate information about death cases during detention in Egypt can be obtained through the Justice Watch Archive service provided by CFJ, which contains information about more than 14,000 victims and over 30,000 violations. It also monitors violations inside more than 500 places of detention in Egypt.