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EOHR welcomes Interior Minister's changes to prison visits and calls for comprehensive penal reform
12/9/2004
The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) welcomes the Interior Minister Habib el-Adly's decision to remove the bars separating prisoners from visitors which represents a first step towards the improvement of the dire conditions in Egyptian prisons. Inmates are currently separated from their visitors by two rows of bars which set them 1.20 metres apart.
Prisoners in Egypt are subject to numerous violations of their rights. They are kept in punitive solitary confinement in a cell measuring no more than 1 x 2 metres devoid of ventilation openings save for a 20 x 20 cm opening in the door. The prisoner is only allowed to leave the cell - which does not have a toilet - once every 24 hours, and is denied visits and all forms of communication. This is in contravention of article 38 of Law 396 [1956] on Prison Regulation. Inmates, particularly political prisoners, are assaulted and electric stun rods employed during the inspections which take place four times a year. Prisoners' personal possessions confiscated. EOHR considers this a form of torture and an affront to prisoners' dignity.
Egyptian prisons are furthermore characterised by extreme overcrowding, low levels of hygiene and polluted water supplies. Prisoners are denied exercise and given small quantities of food of a low nutritional content. Contagious diseases such as tuberculosis and scabies are common in the majority of prisons but are particularly present in el-Wady el-Gedid, Damanhour and el-Fayyoum Prisons. Furthermore prisoners are denied the right to education.
Prisoners are subject to a number of violations of their visitation rights. Article 71 of Interior Minister's Decree no. 79 [1961] on the internal regulations of prisons provides that prisoners confined in general prisons or sentenced to hard labour are entitled to visits of 15 minutes. Those kept in central prisons are entitled to 40 minute visits under article 40 of decree no. 1954 [1971]. In practice visits last a maximum of ten minutes. The discretion granted to the prison administration by prison regulations in the choice of where visits should take place and how they should be organised usually results in visits being conducted in unsuitable conditions. The extreme levels of noise in visiting rooms often render conversation between a prisoner and his family impossible.
EOHR calls for a reappraisal of penal philosophy in Egypt in the light of developed countries' penal policy which is based on prisoner care, rehabilitation and reform. In particular it urges:
1. Reform of prisons' internal regulations in order to bring them in line with the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. The necessary measures must be taken in order to improve living conditions in Egyptian prisons and ensure that prisoners and detainees are not subjected to torture or mistreatment and are guaranteed the right to education, medical attention, food of nutritional value, exercise, visits and communication with the outside world.
2. The formation of an independent national committee to undertake an open and comprehensive inquiry into the causes of the deterioration of the conditions in Egyptian prisons. The committee must be given the necessary powers to enable it to collect the information and data it requires and interview individuals concerned. Its role should extend to social and political issues and not be restricted to legal questions. The committee should issue a comprehensive reform plan for Egyptian prisons.
3. An end to closed prisons which are a major obstacle to the enjoyment of visitation rights and the right to receive correspondence. There is no credible excuse for this policy which the authorities justify on security grounds under article 42 of Law 396 [1956] on Prison Regulation which states: Visits may be prohibited or restricted at certain times as demanded by circumstance for health reasons or reasons connected with security. This allows the Interior Minister to ban visits without having to provide sufficient justifications which can be objectively assessed. The law is vague as to the reasons which justify suspension of visits - a practice which is a flagrant violation of the Egyptian Constitution and international instruments. The length of visits must in any case be extended and the conditions in which they take place improved to bring Egypt in line with the guidelines provided by the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. The number of prisoners kept in cells must also be reduced.
4. An end to repeated detention for political reasons. The Interior Minister currently follows a policy of formally implementing judicial release orders, releasing and then re-detaining prisoners in the nearest police station for a week to two weeks until a fresh detention order is issued and they are returned to prison. EOHR urges the Interior Ministry to immediately release all detainees who have obtained a court release verdict.
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