In its 2019 annual report on prison conditions in Egypt, the Community for International Justice monitored 11,290 violations in 94 detention places. The organisation monitored 819 incidents of overcrowding in places of detention, 331 cases of deprivation of personal necessities, clothing and personal hygiene tools, 546 cases of refusal to provide medical care, in addition to 2,146 enforced disappearances and 3,325 arbitrary arrests during 2019. The organisation expressed deep concern about the poor health care conditions inside Egyptian prisons in the light of coronavirus pandemic, and held the Egyptian authorities responsible for the danger this posed to detainees. The organisation said that conditions of imprisonment will kill tens of thousands of victims if urgent steps are not taken to release the most vulnerable groups.
The organisation called on Egyptian authorities to release prisoners who are over the age of 60, those who have chronic diseases and pregnant women, in addition to the large numbers of journalists, lawyers, jurists, and those whose imprisonment exceeds the legal periods of pretrial detention.
