Dostour Party campaign sheds light on prisoners of conscience

The liberal Dostour Party has launched a campaign introducing prisoners of conscience to the public, saying it hopes to shed light on poor conditions inside prisons.

 

In a statement on Wednesday, the party, founded by former vice president Mohamed ElBaradei in 2012, called for exposing the medical negligence that political prisoners are subjected to behind bars as part of its “Our Youths in Prisons” campaign.

 

“Egyptian security has expanded its crimes of murder, torture, forced disappearance and other barbaric crimes that particularly target political detainees of various affiliations since June 30, 2013, all with the aim of intimidation and discouragement,” a statement on the party’s Facebook page said.

 

It urged citizens to contribute by tracking and sharing any violations against detainees.

 

The party recounted a number of cases of prison violations, including that of Youssef Shaaban, a journalist who is serving a 15-month prison term and, according to the party, suffers from hepatitis C and yet lacks sufficient medical care.

 

Shaaban was arrested while covering activists protests in Alexandria in March 2013.

 

Since the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi, Egypt has faced mounting accusations of practicing random arrests and prison tortures condemned by local and international NGOs as well as foreign governments.

 

In a report early June, the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) blamed authorities for dozens of deaths among detainees due to bad prison conditions and reported tortures.