Rights groups demand Red Cross inspect Egypt prisons

Nine human rights organisations expressed in a statement on Sunday their deep concern about the
medical negligence suffered by political detainees in Egyptian prisons, who are treated in an undignified
manner prompting them to go on hunger strikes.
The organisations demanded the International Committee of the Red Cross inspect prisons in Egypt and
allow other NGOs to visit all places of detention.
The statement said that four detainees died last month as a result of medical negligence including the
Egyptian-American citizen Mustafa Kassem, and warned that hundreds of detainees in prisons could
face the same fate.
There are several examples of detainees suffering from deliberate medical negligence and deterioration
of health, including the leader of Strong Egypt Party and former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim
Aboul Fotouh.
The statement demanded an immediate, open investigation into maltreatment and torture suffered by
the human rights lawyer Mohamed Al-Baqer and the political activist Alaa Abdel Fattah inside prison.