A human rights committee formed by Egypt’s prosecution inspected three Qalioubiya-based Qanater prisons to check the conditions of prisoners and ensure preventive measures against the coronavirus are adopted properly, a statement by the prosecution read on Sunday.
The committee comprised members of the prosecution’s human rights administration, the technical official of the top prosecutor, and southern Benha prosecution, the statement added.
The inspectors followed up on the conditions of the inmates in the three prisons located in northern Egypt and reviewed the legal procedures adopted with the prisoners to ensure their human rights are preserved in line with the constitution and the law.
The committee followed up on the measures taken if a coronavirus case is detected in one of the prisons, including isolating patients, sterilising contaminated places, and providing the required treatment.
The members of the committee inspected each of the prisons’ affiliated hospital and checked a random sample of medicine from their pharmacies for expiry date.
The statement added the committee received complaints from the prisoners regarding conditional release and the subtraction of pre-trial detention from the sentence some inmates have received.
Egyptian human rights delegations and parliament’s human rights committee have earlier made several visits to different prisons nationwide to make sure human rights are preserved.
These visits come while many reports by foreign human rights groups, including the Human Rights Watch, have criticised “violations”, “torture” and “forcible disappearance” allegedly carried out by Egyptian authorities.
Egypt’s State Information Service usually slams the allegations.
