Egypt uses solitary confinement as ‘torture,’ Amnesty International says

Egypt is holding political prisoners in “prolonged and indefinite solitary confinement” that amounts to torture, Amnesty International yesterday said.

In a new report, Amnesty said dozens of human rights activists, journalists and members of the opposition held in solitary confinement faced “horrendous physical abuse”.

It said their treatment caused panic attacks, paranoia, hypersensitivity and difficulties with concentration and memory.

Egypt has detained thousands of people since the military overthrew president Mohammed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, in 2013. Morsi has reportedly been held in solitary confinement for most of the past five years.

“Under international law, solitary confinement may only be used as a disciplinary measure of last resort but the Egyptian authorities are using it as a horrifying extra punishment for political prisoners,” said Najia Bounaim, Amnesty’s North Africa director.

The group, based in London, said it had documented 36 cases of prisoners being held in solitary confinement, including six who have been isolated from the outside world since 2013. It said the prisoners in solitary confinement stayed in their cells for 22 hours a day.

Amnesty and other groups say torture and abuse are widespread in Egyptian prisons.

Basing its report on dozens of interviews with former prisoners and family members of current inmates, the group said abuses ranged from long sessions of beatings to lack of food, humiliation and restricted movement for years on end.

Prisoners held in solitary confinement “suffer depression, insomnia and an unwillingness to socialise or speak to other people when released back into the prison population”, Amnesty said.

The prolonged solitary confinement is usually aimed at extracting confessions and punishing prisoners for protesting against their ill-treatment but some are held there purely because of their past political activism, Amnesty said.

“Prison conditions in Egypt have always been bad but the deliberate cruelty of this treatment shows the wider contempt for human rights and dignity by the Egyptian authorities,” Ms Bounaim said.

Egypt’s Interior Ministry has long denied allegations of systemic torture, blaming any abuses on people and saying those responsible are held accountable. Several officers have been convicted of torture.

Egypt has said enhanced security measures are needed to combat ISIS and other armed groups who have stepped up attacks since 2013.

Amnesty and other groups say torture and abuse are widespread in Egyptian prisons