Another Political Prisoner Dies by Deliberate Medical Negligence in Sisi Prisons

Another Political Prisoner Dies by Deliberate Medical Negligence in Sisi Prisons
On Wednesday, the General Secretary of the Istiqlal Party in Minya Governorate, Abd Al Rahman Mohamed Lutfi, passed away inside the Minya Court while in session to decide on his remand renewal.

Lutfi began an open hunger strike two months ago in his prison in Minya, protesting ill-treatment. Because he was over 60 and suffering from various diseases, he could not withstand the hunger strike complications and fell dead on Wednesday.

The Egyptian Coordination Committee for Rights and Freedoms said that Abd Al Rahman Lutfi was subjected to a kind of extrajudicial killing by the Egyptian security forces through deliberate medical negligence, a recurring crime against Egyptian citizens, and a practice that contravenes the international laws and conventions signed by Egypt.

The death of Abdul Rahman Lutfi came two weeks after the death of Nubian activist, Gamal Sorour, who entered a hunger strike with other so called al-Dfof detainees in the “empty stomachs battle” hunger strike campaign in four Egyptian prisons by political prisoners. Gamal Sorour died after suffering a diabetic coma amid the negligence of the authorities of Al Shallal Prison in Aswan that ignored transferring him to the hospital.

Abd al-Rahman Lutfi is a popular figure and grass-root organizer in the governorate of Minya. He has been active since the 1970s and joined the Labor Party under the leadership of Ibrahim Shoukri. He assumed the position of the party secretary in Minya governorate. Afrter the dissolution of the Labor party and the establishment of Al Istiqlal party, he was elected again as its secretary.

It is noteworthy that dozens of Al ‘Aqrab political detainees have begun this week a full hunger strike in a new escalation against the ongoing violations in Al ‘Aqrab, where the hunger strike participants demand to implement of the national prison code, stop systematic torture, allow family and lawyer visits, and transfer critical cases to a hospital equipped for standard treatment.