Imprisoned Egyptian photojournalist's 'life in danger'

Two human rights organisations have submitted a complaint to the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and the Special Rapporteur against torture, concerning the Egyptian photojournalist Khaled Sholob, who is currently in the notorious al-Aqrab prison in Egypt.  

The Arab Observatory for Media Freedom and the Egyptian Coordination of Rights and Freedoms said the Sholob has been subjected to torture during his three years in prison after being convicted in the "Marriott cell case."  

Sholob has been on hunger strike since April 17, causing him to lose half his body weight.  He is also suffering from a stomach ulcer, finding it difficult to speak and is using a wheelchair.  

According to the testimony from from Khaled’s family who visited him last month, he had head injuries, visible as his head had been shaved, and he could not move his leg.  

In March, more than twenty detainees went on hunger strike in al-Aqrab prison to protest dire conditions in the facility which holds up to 1000 political prisoners.

Al-Aqrab prison was built in 1993 when Habib al-Adly was interior minister and has been described as Egypt's Guantanamo Bay.

Egyptian activists have taken to social media to express solidarity with the plight of the prisoners.