26 Jan 2021; MEMO: Rights watchdog Amnesty International has slammed human rights abuses in Egypt in a new report to mark the ten-year anniversary of Egypt's 2011 uprising.
Jails in Egypt are packed with the revolutionaries that once stood in Tahrir Square calling on Hosni Mubarak to stand down, Amnesty sets out in 'What do you care if I die?'.
Some 60,000 political opponents languish in Egypt's jails.
Detainees live in twice-capacity cells, the report says, where they are held at the complete mercy of prison guards.
Prison officials are subjecting political prisoners to torture by denying them healthcare in retribution for their revolutionary activities.
Some are held for 22-23 hours a day in solitary confinement, are denied family visits and deprived food packages from their relatives.
Their treatment of inmates has led to deaths in custody and irreparable harm to their health.
"It is deplorable that the Egyptian authorities are seeking to intimidate and torment human rights defenders, politicians, activists and other actual or perceived opponents by denying them healthcare," commented MENA Director Philip Luther.
"When the denial causes severe pain or suffering and is a deliberate act for the purpose of punishment, it constitutes torture."
