Suicide attempts reported in Egypt’s notorious Borg El-Arab Prison

A number of political prisoners in Egypt’s notorious Borg El-Arab Prison have attempted to commit suicide while others have gone on strike to protest against the torture and abuse carried out against them, the Shehab Centre for Human Rights revealed yesterday.

The right group said it had received distress calls from Borg El-Arab Prison stating that “violations have been practiced against political detainees for more than ten days,” where “detainees are subjected to systematic psychological torture and severe violence, after a prison officer resorted to oppressive measures without justification, followed by the deportation of dozens of detainees to unknown prisons.”

According to the distress calls published by the centre, “the detainees’ rights have been unlawfully reduced, as they have been prevented from exercising, in addition to reducing the visiting time … and preventing the entry of many essential supplies, including medicines.”

“In addition, the electricity was repeatedly cut off from the cells,” causing detainees to faint as a result of the heat. During the power cut, it added, prison guards raided cells and stripped the detainees of their personal belongings, including food, medicines and blankets, which prompted a number of detainees to attempt suicide.

“The rest of the ward went on an open strike in protest of the ill-treatment,” it added.

Borg El-Arab Prison was established in 2004 in a desert area west of Alexandria Governorate. According to testimonies given by former detainees, prisoners suffer from deliberate medical neglect, and a number of political prisoners have previously gone on strike, either collectively or individually, to protest violations committed against them.

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