A young Egyptian detainee accused one of the officers inside Minya Prison of assaulting and defaming him with the help of prison guards and criminal prisoners inside his detention facility.

The detainee, Abdul Rahman Jamal Metwally Al-Shuwaikh, announced a comprehensive hunger strike so that those responsible for these violations that he was subjected to by an officer called Muhammad Muhammadin would be held accountable. Al-Shuwaikh said in a written letter to his mother that he was assaulted by the police and the prison strike force after a verbal altercation with a criminal prisoner. Al-Shuwaikh appealed to the Public Prosecutor and human rights organisations to quickly intervene to investigate the violations.

Activists on Facebook revealed the contents of the leaked message from the mother of the detainee, who explained how the attacks on her son took place inside the prison on April 6. The Shehab Centre for Human Rights published Al-Shuwaikh’s message from inside prison, which was met with wide interaction and great solidarity on social networking sites.

The detainee’s mother said that she had filed a report with the Minya Prosecutor’s Office against the officer responsible for sexually assaulting her son, noting that prison officials denied the occurrence of the incident. It is noteworthy that many local and international human rights organisations confirm that Egyptian prisoners suffer from dire conditions.

Reports indicate the absence of safety factors and means of protection in prisons, the denial of food and medicine, and willful medical negligence, in addition to attacks against detainees. There is an estimated 70,000 political prisoners in Egypt.