Cairo: 18 June 2019
The Arabic Network for Human Rights information (ANHRI) said, today, that the death of former President Mohamed Morsi during his trial yesterday exposes the rampant violations of human rights in Egypt, the deteriorating conditions of prisons and prisoners, the harassment and mistreatment of political detainees and prisoners of conscience and the double-standard policy prevailing in the country.
Former President “Mohamed Morsi” fell to the ground in the cage, yesterday afternoon, during his trial in one of the many cases he was involved in; the case publicly known as “spying for Hamas”. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead soon after his arrival to conduct medical examination, according to the Public Prosecution’s statement.
The death of the former president reopens the issue of the deteriorating conditions of prisons and political detainees in Egypt including; medical negligence, prolonged solitary confinement, denial of visitations and protracted pretrial detention, which has turned into a tool of punishment, not a mere precautionary measure.
ANHRI said “The slow killing of opposition prisoners in Egypt shall not be tolerated or met with silence. We shouldn’t overlook or disregard the selective and double-standard justice in dealing with prisoners; as acquittals and dignified treatment are only given to the very few of Mubarak’s regime’s figures who have been brought to trial, while there are thousands of opponents- whether young or old, left or right, Islamists or secularists- who are being languished in prisons that have become similar to graves. Complaints and reports submitted to the Public Prosecution are no longer responded to, and many collusive human rights organizations have endeavored to cover up the violations. As well, the media, mostly dominated and controlled by the government, has become a promoter of antagonism, lies and defamation. Mohamed Morsi wasn’t the first victim of human rights abuses and should be the last.”
Just as ANHRI rejected the mistreatment of former dictator Hosni Mubarak during his trial following the January revolution demanding that all prisoners be treated in a humane way, it calls for a fair and transparent investigation into the circumstances that led to the death of former President Mohamed Morsi. It also demands to bring to account those responsible for depriving Morsi’s family from visiting him for nearly two years, and to punish whoever neglects to bring medical care to any prisoner, or puts him in solitary confinement in violation of the law or for a longer period than is permitted. The Arabic Network, as well, call upon the Public Prosecutor and the judiciary to stop the policy of protracted pretrial detention, so as not to be accomplices in the persistence of oppression and injustice in Egypt
