Abuse of prisoners escalates at Egypt's Borg el-Arab prison

Inmates in Borg el-Arab's Gharbaniyat Prison, near the Egyptian city of Alexandria, have appealed for help from Egyptian and international human rights organisations.

Sources told al-Araby al-Jadeed that tensions peaked after the execution of an Alexandrian youth last Saturday.

The inmates' families said abuses may be linked to new security measures implemented in anticipation of the response of prisoners to the news of the execution.

According to the same sources, police officers supervise the torture of prisoners. On Tuesday, prisoners were severely beaten, the sources said, resulting in 113 injuries. Their personal belongings were burned and water and electricity were cut off from their cells. In addition, 60 prisoners were "disciplined".

Special Central Security forces... attacked Ward 22 using tear gas, water cannon and batons, severely beating the inmates.

Families of some prisoners told al-Araby that security forces beat prisoners in front of their families during their visit yesterday.

The brother of one inmate said the prison administration conducted torture sessions during the week, with physical abuse and verbal humiliation, for hundreds of inmates.

The administration also cuts off water and electricity, threatening the inmates' lives, he added.

A number of families of those detained at Gharbaniyat had stated earlier that their relatives were subject to brutal torture during the prison uprising last November, when security forces used tear gas and batons, threatening to kill prisoners.

"Special Central Security forces... attacked Ward 22 using tear gas, water cannons and batons, severely beating the inmates and seizing all their personal belongings and food, which led to a number of mild to serious injuries," stated the association of Gharbaniyat inmates' families.

The families' association blames the interior minister, the head of the prison authority, Alexandria's security chief and the Gharbaniyat prison commissioner. They have called on human rights organisations for a swift intervention to save their loved ones.

The Gharbaniyat prisoners had gone on several hunger strikes, protesting the security and human rights violations they are subjected to on a daily basis.

This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.