The son of imprisoned former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, Ahmed Aboul Fotouh, said on Monday that his father turned down family visits when he discovered they would take place behind a glass barrier. The authorities had moved Aboul Fotouh from Tora prison to Badr prison. According to his family, his cell is constantly lit and monitored by cameras.

Aboul Fotouh informed his family in a letter that his health had worsened while incarcerated in Tora prison. This coincided with a campaign launched by politicians and human rights activists to demand that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi release Aboul Fotouh.

Among those calling for his release is former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi, head of the Socialist Popular Alliance Party Medhat Zahid, human rights lawyer Nejad Borai, and National Council for Human Rights member George Ishaq. They issued a statement saying that since the beginning of July, Aboul Fotouh has been suffering many health crises that have accelerated the deterioration of his health.

Cairo Criminal Court had decided to renew the detention of Aboul Fotouh, for 45 days, pending a case in which he faces charges of leading and financing a terrorist group. Aboul Fotouh had said during a court session that the prison administration was being subjected to a “slow death” because it refused to transfer him to a hospital.

Ahmed Abul-Ela Madi’s lawyer said that Aboul Fotouh had suffered clots that resulted in a blockage in the arteries, which required medical examinations and x-rays that are not present in the prison hospital to the need for prostate surgery. Madi said he submitted requests to the Presidency of the Republic, the Attorney General, the Prisons Authority, and the National Council for Human Rights but received no response.