Egypt rights lawyers say new prison law legalises abuses

Egyptian human rights lawyers said on Monday they are concerned that new amendments to prison laws, which give administrators wider leeway for the use of force, could open the door to more violations in Egypt's prisons, despite some amendments they see as positive.

Egyptian President Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi issued the amendments and additional articles on Sunday, according to local media.

One amendment for example allows prison officers to use force against prisoners who resist orders based on laws or prison regulations, beyond the previously authorised use of force for self-defence and to prevent an escape attempt.

"This is a legal cover to all forms of violence that could occur inside prisons," said Mohamed Abd al-Aziz, a rights lawyer and director of al-Haqanya legal centre.

In addition, the maximum time a prisoner can spend in solitary confinement has been increased from 15 days to 30 days.

Other amendments the lawyers see as positive include that prisoners can make phone calls in exchange for money, while in the past the law didn't provide any information on phone calls, and that they can receive visitors twice a month, up from the previous limit of once per month, according to lawyers.

Female prisoners who give birth inside prisons could keep their children with them up to four years, increased from two years, and pregnant women on death row won't be executed for two years after giving birth, compared with the previous two months.

Still, "there are no guarantees that the positive aspects of these amendments would be actually implemented," said Reda Marey, a lawyer who handles prison issues at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, an organisation which opposes capital punishment.

The lawyers both say without authorised surprise inspection visits from an independent organisation, there are no guarantees that the existing regulations will be implemented.

Rights groups say conditions in Egyptian prisons fall below international standards, where prisoners are kept in overcrowded conditions with poor ventilation and hygiene and don't always have access to needed medical assistance - leading to situations such as the death of three detainees in a prison north of Cairo during a heat wave in July and August.

Sisi led the July 2013 military coup against former Islamist President Mohammad Morsi, amid mass protests against his rule. Since then, the government has waged a sweeping crackdown on Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and jailed secular activists for taking part in unauthorised street protests. Thousands of political detainees are behind bars, according to rights lawyers.