The state-sponsored National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) is coordinating with the Ministry of Interior to visit the prisons where former president Mohamed Morsi, vice president of Al-Wasat party Essam Sultan, and journalist Hesham Gafaar are detained, in order to check the validity of their complaints about the conditions under which they are being held.
The three detainees are kept in different detention centres.
Lawyer Nasser Amin, who is a member of the NCHR, told Daily News Egypt that the council is attempting to arrange a visit to check the situation in coordination with the ministry.
He noted that the council is still addressing the ministry about the visits.
Commenting on news that suggested that the council will form a fact-finding committee to check the complaints, Nasser said that “the situation does not deserve a special committee; we will just visit the detainees’ prisons and fix the situation.”
On Sunday, Al-Wasat party published a statement condemning Sultan’s condition, and clarifying his conditions.
It noted that Sultan is kept in a prison cell that is closed for the whole day and used to only be opened for one hour previously.
No food from relatives is allowed to be sent to his cell, and he is not allowed to leave his cell or be exposed to sun, which has led to a worsening of his condition and a loss of weight, according to the statement.
The statement also said that Sultan is not able to view the legal documents for his case.
Regarding Gaafar, his wife has issued multiple complaints over his health condition and forwarded them to NCHR.
Furthermore, Morsi, during his last court session, shouted that he was being prevented throughout the past four years from meeting his defence team or any of his family members, adding that he wants to meet his lawyer to discuss things related to his personal life.
NCHR claims to regularly conduct visits to prisons to check complaints of families over their sons’ poor conditions in prisons.
