A detainee died in the central prison of Beni Suef on Monday after several failed attempts to have him transferred for treatment in the hospital.
The Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF) announced in a statement that Khaled Saeed, 46, was a Hepatitis C patient who was detained in January 2014 while visiting his two imprisoned sons Ahmed and Mohamed. Saeed was detained on charges of stealing a military APC in the wake of the Rabaa Al-Adaweya sit-in dispersal. He was released a week ago from the case, but was sent back to prison for a separate military trial.
The statement added that many reports were filed to the Prosecutor-General regarding Saeed’s case stating that he needs medical treatment but no response was made, which particularly led to his death.
“He is on the verge between life and death,” his son Salah was quoted in a statement by ECRF two days ago. He added his father was having severe bleeding and the prison directory refused to transfer him to the hospital.
According to his son, Saeed had several diseases such as liver and spleen inflation in addition to Virus C, and the prison refused to let his medicines in.
Saeed’s death sparked angry reactions by Muslim Brotherhood supporters. The Freedom and Justice Party, which is the banned political wing of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, condemned Saeed’s death. “Beni Suef central prison directory always refuses to send detainees with long-term diseases for treatment,” the party said, labelling the security personnel as “bloody coup policemen”.
Students Against the Coup (SAC), a student opposition movement, responded to the death saying the “blood of martyr Khaled Saeed will not go in vain”.
Saeed is not the first detainee to die inside a detention facility. The number of deaths inside detention facilities following the dispersal of Rabaa Al-Adaweya sit-ins has been largely increasing, according to figures of the Egypt’s official Forensic Medicine Authority.
Hisham Abdelhamid, the authority’s spokesperson, told Daily News Egypt earlier: “52 persons died inside detention facilities in the period from January 2014 to November 2014 in Cairo.”
Meanwhile, health facilities for detainees are even scarcer outside Cairo, according to independent research groups.
In November 2014, a prisoner died in Menufiya due to inadequate healthcare in prison, according to his lawyer.
Tarek Al-Ghandour suffered from liver dysfunction and was imprisoned in Abu Za’abal and then Wadi El-Natrun prisons.
