The Committee for Justice (CFJ) has documented a sharp deterioration in the health and humanitarian conditions of political detainees inside Badr Prison (3), amid an almost total absence of medical care, deliberate obstruction of treatment, and the destruction of medical files—placing the lives of dozens of detainees at grave risk.
According to CFJ’s documentation, several detainees are suffering from serious illnesses, including cancer cases and acute respiratory attacks, which have worsened due to the freezing cold and harsh detention conditions. Despite the severity of these cases, detainees are being denied necessary medical treatment and are not transferred to specialized hospitals, in flagrant violation of their right to health and physical integrity.
Collective Punishment
This health deterioration has coincided with the imposition of collective punitive measures, including threats to withdraw family visits, large‑scale “security raids” to confiscate detainees’ personal belongings, and forcing families to repeatedly replace confiscated items. The measures also include deprivation of exercise and denial of exposure to sunlight for extended periods—actions that exacerbate physical and psychological harm.
CFJ noted that these punitive policies are being enforced broadly and without any legal basis, used as tools of coercion and retribution, particularly in response to the detainees’ ongoing protest actions. These include hunger strikes and other peaceful forms of dissent, none of which have received any form of meaningful response from the prison administration.
Serious Violations
The committee emphasized that the continuation of these practices, in the midst of complete official silence, signals a shift from a deteriorating situation to an increasingly dangerous one. CFJ stated that the current conditions represent a blatant violation of the Egyptian Constitution and the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules).
CFJ called for an immediate halt to collective punitive measures, urgent provision of adequate medical care to all detainees, and full access to basic rights including treatment, exercise, and family visits. The committee also urged the opening of an independent investigation into the ongoing violations and holding those responsible to account.
