The Committee for Justice (CFJ) has documented a serious deterioration in the humanitarian and living conditions of political detainees inside New Valley Prison, amid arbitrary practices and repressive measures that endanger their lives and physical safety and constitute a grave violation of constitutional and international standards governing the rights of detainees.
According to CFJ’s documentation, detainees are suffering from a complete deprivation of blankets and essential winter clothing, despite the sharp drop in temperatures and the poor condition of prison cells, which allow cold air to directly infiltrate the cells. These conditions significantly increase health risks, particularly for elderly detainees and those with chronic illnesses.
CFJ also documented that prison authorities are pursuing a systematic policy of starvation by providing insufficient quantities of food that fail to meet minimum nutritional requirements. These practices are compounded by strict restrictions on food items brought by families during visits, with most items either completely prohibited or allowed only in extremely limited quantities.
In addition, violations include repeated searches and the confiscation of personal belongings and essential items required for daily life, within a broader framework of continuous harassment and collective punishment imposed on detainees.
On the healthcare level, CFJ documented a severe deterioration in medical care inside the prison, as the prison hospital fails to meet even the most basic safety and healthcare standards and provides only very limited services. Furthermore, the prison administration continues to refuse or delay the transfer of critically ill detainees to external hospitals, citing the remote desert location of the prison as justification.
The Committee for Justice affirms that these practices constitute blatant violations of the rights to life and health and of human dignity. The Committee calls on the relevant authorities to immediately halt policies of starvation and collective punishment, to provide blankets, winter clothing, and essential supplies without restriction, to improve both the quality and quantity of food provided to detainees, to allow families to bring food and basic necessities during visits without arbitrary limitations, and to ensure genuine medical care, including transferring ill detainees to external hospitals whenever medically necessary.
The Committee stresses that the continuation of these conditions places the authorities under serious legal and moral responsibility and requires urgent intervention to guarantee humane conditions of detention and to end ongoing violations inside New Valley Prison.
