Egypt’s Minister of Interior said the ministry will allow for an ‘exceptional’ period of family visitation for all inmates from Saturday 9 January until Thursday 21 January, according to an official statement issued on Saturday.
“This decision comes as part of the ministry’s strategy to support human and social rights for inmates,” the minister said in the statement.
Families of prisoners held in the Tora maximum security prison said they have only been allowed to visit their family members, and provide them with blankets and medication since mid December, following a ban that lasted several months.
In another statement issued on Friday, the ministry said it had sent a medical convoy to the Damanhour men’s prison, with the aim of providing medical checkups and treatment for inmates. The statement said the total number of inmates affected inside the prison is around 1,400.
Recently, dozens of inmates have died inside prisons amid deteriorating conditions and a lack of medical treatment. The rate of arrests has seen an increase after the banning of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013, causing over-crowdedness in prison cells and resulting in the death of dozens of prisoners.
