Two detainees have died in Egyptian prisons and detention centres in 24 hours as a result of medical negligence, raising the death toll in prisons in Egypt since the beginning of this year to more than 10. The Egyptian citizen Magdi al-Qalawi died as a result of medical negligence in Wadi al-Natroun Prison Hospital following constant medical neglect since he and his son were arrested about a year and a half ago.
The political detainee, Ibrahim al-Batea, died as a result of medical negligence in the police department in the city of Zagazig. Al-Batea, from a village in Sharqia Governorate in the north of Egypt, was detained for seven months pending the case of joining a terrorist group. Al-Batea’s health deteriorated after he had a stroke. He moved to the Zagazig General Hospital after his condition deteriorated, and his family demanded that he be placed in a hospital at their expense, but the Egyptian authorities refused the request. His condition worsened and he was transferred to intensive care where he died.
A few days ago, at dawn on February 4, the Egyptian citizen Raafat Hamed Mohamed Abdullah, residing in the Mandara area of Alexandria governorate, died in a police station in Alexandria. He was subjected to severe torture while forcibly disappeared, which led to the deterioration of his health.

On January 27, the detainee Sabri al-Hadi died in the Faqus Police Department in Sharqia Governorate after his health deteriorated due to medical negligence in the police station. Also on January 27 Shawky Muhammad Musa breathed his last breath inside al-Abadia Prison where he fell unconscious and was transferred to the hospital and died, according to the Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms. On January 18, detainee Atef al-Naqrati died in a police station as a result of deliberate medical negligence and the authorities’ refusal to transport him to the hospital after two years. Already this year four political prisoners have died in prisons and police stations after going on hunger strike, combined with the severe cold that exacerbated their health conditions. On January 13, the Egyptian-American political detainee, Mustafa Kassem, died whilst on hunger strike. Kassem was sentenced on September 7, 2018, to 15 years imprisonment in the case of the Rabaa al-Adawiya sit-in. He was suffering from diabetes and a gland disease that affected his liver. On January 8, the detainee Alaa el-Din Saad, 56, died from the cold in Borg el-Arab Prison in Alexandria. The prison administration neglected his treatment until his condition worsened and he died. On the same day Mahmoud Mohamed died in Bandar Luxor police station from the cold weather. On January 5, Mahmoud Abdel Mageed Mahmoud Saleh died in Scorpion Prison as a result of medical negligence and the prevention of medical treatment, along with suffering from the severe cold.

According to a joint human rights report published at the end of last year, 449 prisoners died in places of detention during the period between June 2014 and the end of 2018. According to a human rights update, this death toll included 677 as a result of medical negligence, and 136 as a result of torture.