Families of Egyptian political prisoners launch UK advocacy group

A new organisation was launched in London on Thursday to represent the families of political detainees held in Egypt, according to a press relese shared with Middle East Eye.

The Families of Egyptian Detainees Association (Feda) said it will liaise with institutions and authorities both inside and outside Egypt, in the hope of helping secure the release of political detainees.

It said it would “work with anyone who can contribute to closing this painful chapter and securing the release of political detainees from prison”.

Since 2013, when Abdel Fatah el-Sisi led a military coup which deposed Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, there has been a huge increase in political detentions.

Rights groups estimate that over 60,000 prisoners of conscience are held in Egyptian jails, of whom over 1,000 are women. Many of them are students, youths and activists from across the Egyptian political spectrum.

According to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, the total number of prisoners in Egypt in March 2021 was 120,000, with an estimated 65,000 political prisoners, at least 26,000 of whom were being held in pre-trial detention.

Many, including former President Morsi and several opposition figures, have died of medical neglect and other inhumane prison conditions, according to documentation by multiple rights groups.

Feda said it would work to represent families of detainees, wherever they are in the world.

“[We aim] to keep the issue of detainees at the forefront of national and international attention, advocate for Egyptian detainees in national and international forums, work tirelessly to ensure fair trials and humane conditions of detention, and pursue their release through all available means,” it said.

The association will engage international institutions, religious and political leaders, the media, and human rights groups.

It also said it would “organise visits to the United Nations and its various bodies concerned with detainees and victims of enforced disappearance, pursue legal action before competent courts over violations suffered by detainees, and organise public events in solidarity with them”.

Rights groups have long documented violations faced by Egyptian detainees, including inadequate medical care, poor nutrition and ventilation, denial of family visits, overcrowded cells, denial of access to books and newspapers and denial of exercise.

In September 2021, Cairo launched a national human rights strategy, in which provisions were set out concerning prisoners’ rights.

The framework included goals for humane treatment, protection from torture and abuse, judicial oversight of prisons, and inspections of conditions by the national council for human rights.

The strategy also touched on the government seeking to reduce prison numbers through periodic releases of detainees, including conditional releases, as well as presidential pardons on national occasions and holidays, and the release of detainees suffering from illnesses.

“Detainees and their families had hoped that this strategy would be implemented, but they say they have yet to see its impact inside prisons,” Feda said.

“They continue to await the implementation of the strategy and the legislative amendments that followed it as a step toward closing this dark chapter.”