Press release
The Committee for Justice (CFJ) has reported the death of a young man inside the detention of Gerga Police Station in Sohag Governorate, southern Egypt, on Sunday, August 18th, due to inhumane detention conditions, violations he was subjected to, and deliberate denial of medical care.
– Deliberate Negligence and Medical Neglect:
CFJ stated that Mustafa Mahmoud Karim Amin, 28, took his last breath after four days of inhumane detention despite his deteriorating health condition. He suffered from a heart disease that required urgent surgical intervention, which was supposed to take place in the upcoming weeks had he not been detained and subsequently died.
Captain Ahmed Abdel Qader El-Esh, assistant detective at Gerga Police Station, along with an accompanying security force, arrested “Amin” on the night of August 14th following a report of a dispute between him and some of his relatives.
Despite his family informing the assistant detective of his health condition, he refused to allow any medication to be brought in. The prosecution, after reviewing his case, rejected his lawyer’s request for release on any financial guarantee due to his critical health condition and ordered his continued detention, which led to his death due to a severe heart attack caused by extreme overcrowding, lack of ventilation inside the cell, and not receiving his medication or any medical care. The assistant detective also refused to transfer him to a specialized hospital for heart conditions.
– Complaint of Excessive Force:
Following this, “Amin’s” family filed a complaint against the assistant detective, accusing him of cruelty and use of force against him, in addition to preventing him from receiving the necessary treatment and medication for his critical heart condition. They also accused him of deliberately ignoring repeated requests from the family and the treating doctor, who recommended his transfer to a specialized heart hospital.
– Call to Prevent Impunity:
CFJ rejects the indifference shown by law enforcement officials in Egypt towards the health conditions of detainees, calling on Egypt to respect the basic human right to life for these detainees and to ensure that anyone found guilty of deliberate medical neglect against a detainee is not exempt from punishment.
CFJ also calls on the Egyptian authorities to improve detention conditions in their facilities to comply with the requirements of international covenants and treaties that Egypt has signed and is obligated to implement, most notably the Mandela Rules for the Protection of the Rights of Those Deprived of Liberty.
– 38 Deaths in Custody in 2024:
This incident brings the total number of deaths recorded by CFJ in Egyptian prisons and detention centers since the beginning of 2024 to 38. 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.
