Second prisoner in Egypt reported dead in 24 hours: rights monitors

A second prisoner in Egypt has been reported dead within his cell in 24 hours, triggering outcry among local rights groups.

The al-Shehab Human Rights Centre and the Egyptian Network for Human Rights said Saturday that a detainee named Khaled al-Abyad had died in Minya prison due to medical neglect.

Al-Abyad, who had been imprisoned for more than 12 years, had been denied medical care despite suffering a "severe health crisis", according to testimonies collected by the organisations.

His family said he did not have any medical conditions before his imprisonment and blamed negligence and poor conditions inside the prison for his death.

"The Al-Shehab Centre holds the Egyptian authorities fully responsible for his death and demands an urgent and independent investigation," it said in a statement.

Al-Abyad, 52, had been imprisoned since 2013 in connection with the alleged storming of a police station in Helwan.

The news of al-Abyad's death came less than 24 hours after another political prisoner, Ibrahim Ahmed Abdel Rahman, was reported dead.

Abdel Rahman was serving a 15-year sentence in the high-security Jamasa prison and was reportedly denied medical care after being diagnosed with cancer.

The Adalah Centre for Rights and Freedoms said his death was part of a "recurring pattern of systematic medical negligence" in Egyptian detention facilities.

Adalah, Al-Shehab and the Egyptian Network for Human Rights called for an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Abdel Rahman's death.

International and Egyptian rights monitors have for years documented a rise in deaths inside prisons, particularly among political detainees, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have said that prisoners are deliberately denied medical treatment, held in inhumane conditions and subject to torture.

Rights groups have documented hundreds of deaths in Egyptian prisons, most due to medical negligence and poor conditions.

Geneva-based rights group the Committee for Justice has said that more than 950 people died between June 2013 and December 2019.

Egyptian authorities deny mistreating prisoners and insist they provide access to adequate healthcare.