Prisons, public life and social rights under pressure
Deleted Lines | Issue 15 | January 2026
Prisons, public life and social rights under pressure
In this issue, we open an intertwined file of violations in which politics intersects with justice, the economy with citizenship, and individual rights with the engineering of the public sphere. From inside the prisons, where assaults are escalating and “post-pardon” prosecutions continue, to the halls of the prosecution and the engineered parliament, the picture emerges of a system that reproduces restrictions with legal, security and administrative tools.
1. Personal liberty and prison conditions
Politics and the Public Sphere
Physical Assault and Threats of “Discipline”: Mohamed Adel Faces Violations inside “10th of Ramadan”
The family of the political activist Mohamed Adel, former spokesperson of the April 6 Movement, is facing an escalation of the violations against him inside the 10th of Ramadan Reform and Rehabilitation Centre (4).
According to the account of his wife, Rofaida Hamdy, Adel was beaten and subjected to an attempted strangling by criminal prisoners on 10 January, while the family accused the prison administration of instigating this incident to pressure him into ending his hunger strike, which he has continued since 7 December.
On 19 January, the Advocate General of the Mansoura Appeals Prosecution heard the statements of his family in the complaint in which the defence demanded that he undergo a medical examination and that those responsible for the prison be investigated. For their part, human rights organisations expressed their grave concern, stressing the need to record the injuries in an official report and to hold those involved accountable in accordance with the law.
Bail in Exchange for “Posts”: Ahmed Douma before the State Security Prosecution for the Fifth Time
On 20 January, the Supreme State Security Prosecution released the poet Ahmed Douma on bail of EGP 100,000 pending Case No. 403 of 2026, after an interrogation that lasted 8 hours on a charge of “publishing false news”. The questioning centred on 5 online posts, 4 of which relate to the incident of the assault on Mohamed Adel inside his place of detention.
This prosecution is the fifth against Douma since his release under a presidential pardon in August 2023, which raises questions about the continuation of the policy of “post-prison prosecution” as a tool for restricting the movement of released political figures.
Rights and Freedoms
El Nadeem Center: 2025 Saw 1,423 Cases of Enforced Disappearance and 78 Deaths in Places of Detention
In its annual report entitled “From the Media: The Archive of Oppression in 2025”, El Nadeem Center against Violence and Torture revealed a horrifying toll of human rights violations in Egypt during the past year, documenting 1,423 cases of enforced disappearance, 474 cases of medical neglect, 71 cases of individual torture and 66 cases of extrajudicial killing by security forces, in addition to 78 deaths inside places of detention as a result of torture or medical neglect.
According to the report, the violations were distributed across the various governorates, with Cairo topping the list with more than 2,000 violations of various kinds, followed by Sharqia and Giza with more than 300 and 100 cases respectively.
The centre pointed out that 2025 saw an escalation in the patterns of violations despite the official discourse about “modern reform centres”, as 253 cases of deprivation of treatment and 195 incidents of individual harassment inside prisons were recorded, while the policies of cutting off and isolating detainees continued in the Badr, 10th of Ramadan and Minya maximum-security prisons, which the report described as “black holes beyond oversight”.
El Nadeem stressed that the violations were not limited to detainees, but extended to wider society through a “systematic engineering of fear and deprivation”, noting that state policy is based on “deprivation of life, liberty, care and dignity, even after pardon or release”.
In a related context, the report documented 309 new cases of enforced disappearance during the year, against 1,439 people who later appeared before security bodies or prosecutions, most of them after periods of disappearance ranging from days to months, while a number of them were “recycled” into new cases despite release decisions.
The report warned that extrajudicial killing has come to be officially justified with phrases such as “liquidating dangerous elements”, without independent investigations or trials, noting that some of the victims were children killed during security raids, without their names being mentioned in the Ministry of Interior’s statements.
As for deaths inside places of detention, El Nadeem stated that 44 of them occurred in prisons, 31 in police stations and 3 during transfer in prisoner transport vehicles. It also recorded 9 deaths during enforced disappearance or inside National Security headquarters.
El Nadeem Center called for independent investigations and for those responsible for torture, medical neglect and enforced disappearance to be held accountable, renewing its demand for an end to the policies of “impunity”, which it considered the reason for the continuation and escalation of violations year after year.
“Oxygen” Detained despite the End of His Sentence, and a New Complaint about Conditions in (Badr 3)
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights called for the release of the blogger Mohamed Ibrahim (“Oxygen”), stressing that he remains in detention despite having served his full prison sentence (4 years) in Case No. 1228 of 2021. Although the sentence ended on 3 January 2026, “Oxygen” is still detained in Badr Prison (1) without a clear legal basis, as he continues to be “recycled” pending old cases dating back to 2020.
In a related context, Hossam Bahgat, director of the Initiative, submitted a complaint to the Public Prosecutor calling for a criminal investigation into the conditions of inmates of Badr Prison (3); the complaint documented violations relating to arbitrary bans on visits, medical restrictions and the presence of surveillance cameras inside the cells, in addition to depriving detained students of sitting their university examinations.
“Egypt without Prisoners of Conscience”: Legal Moves against Exceeding Pretrial Detention Periods
On 14 January, the Committee for the Defence of Prisoners of Conscience submitted a memorandum to the Public Prosecutor calling for the immediate release of those who have exceeded the maximum period of pretrial detention (two years).
The memorandum, which was supported by the “Egypt without Prisoners of Conscience” initiative, stressed that exceeding pretrial detention periods invalidates the legality of the detention, and appealed to the prosecution to “let the spirit of justice prevail” and to lift the suffering of families in order to ensure social stability.
2. Political participation and public life
Ammar Ali Hassan to Zawia3: Parliament Is “Engineered” and the National Dialogue Was a Wasted Opportunity
In an exclusive interview with Zawia3, the writer and political thinker Ammar Ali Hassan presented an anatomy of the current scene, describing the Egyptian press as having become “shackled” and unable to perform its oversight role because of information restrictions and harsher penalties for “false publishing”.
He also described the recent parliamentary elections as having been “engineered” to lead to predetermined results, turning parliament into a “bridge” for passing the policies of the executive authority, while he considered that the National Dialogue had been used up as a public relations tool rather than as a genuine reform track.
To read the interview: Ammar Ali Hassan to Zawia3… The Press Is Shackled, Parliament Is Engineered, and the National Dialogue Was a Wasted Opportunity
3. Cultural freedom and administrative justice
Society and Administrative Justice
“Dar El-Maraya” Excluded from the Book Fair for the Second Year, and Ambiguity Prevails
Yehia Fikry, executive director of “Dar El-Maraya”, revealed that the publishing house had been barred from taking part in the Cairo International Book Fair without official notification or legal justification.
Fikry explained in his interview with Zawia3 that this “unannounced” ban represents a pattern of restrictions on independent publishing houses, warning of the economic and cultural consequences of these policies, which contradict the official discourse about supporting culture and confronting extremism.
To read the interview: Yehia Fikry to Zawia3: Dar El-Maraya Excluded from the Book Fair for the Second Year without Official Explanation
"Al-Bawaba News" Journalists' Sit-in Broken Up by Force, and the Newspaper's Owner Struck Off
The headquarters of “Al-Bawaba News” in Dokki witnessed a storming by “bodyguards” to break up the sit-in of journalists demanding their overdue salaries, an incident that was followed by the questioning of 9 journalists and two members of the syndicate board on a charge of “demonstrating”. In response, the Journalists Syndicate announced that it had struck off the newspaper’s owner, Abdel Rahim Ali, for violating the syndicate law, in a step aimed at protecting professional rights and confronting arbitrary practices.
The Higher Technological Institute Refuses to Implement a Court Ruling in Favour of a University Professor
The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the administration of the Higher Technological Institute – 6th of October refused to implement a final and conclusive court ruling issued in favour of Professor Dr Manar El-Tantawy, a professor in the institute’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, which ruled that she is entitled to promotion to the rank of professor, despite it being an enforceable ruling not subject to appeal.
This refusal comes, according to human rights organisations, as part of a series of arbitrary measures and systematic administrative abuse to which El-Tantawy is being subjected, in a grave violation of the principle of the rule of law and of the academic and labour rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
4. Housing, property and economic rights
Urban Development and the Economy
Expropriation in 2024: 24,000 Feddans and the Displacement of the Residents of 17,000 Units
Marsad Al-Omran issued a study analysing the “public benefit” decisions published in the Official Gazette during 2024. The study revealed the implementation of 109 public benefit projects, of which transport and bridge projects accounted for 32%.
The study recorded the expropriation of about 24,000 feddans (of which 6,000 feddans were agricultural) and the eviction of more than 17,000 housing units, while compensation was estimated at about EGP 35 billion, two thirds of which was allocated to transport and communications projects.
Egypt Faces the Test of the “Year of Big Debts”: Bets between Swaps and Exits
The Egyptian government is preparing to face 2026, which is described as the “most difficult” in the history of contemporary indebtedness, with external obligations reaching about USD 29 billion. To get out of this predicament, the state is betting on a multi-track strategy that includes expanding “debt-for-investment swaps”, continuing the programme of selling sovereign assets, and extending the maturity of domestic debt.
Despite the ambitious official targets of reducing debt to 70% of GDP by 2029 and gradually returning to international bond markets, the biggest challenge remains the “debt service bill”, which currently drains about half of public expenditure, putting the state budget in a constant race to secure liquidity.
Dr Ahmed Abboud, professor of economics at the University of Portsmouth in London, believes that the idea of swapping debt for investments could be an effective tool for reducing external debt and opening new horizons for investment inside Egypt. He explained that the idea is based on replacing the state’s financial obligations towards creditors with investment projects owned by those countries inside Egypt, so that they invest the money in these projects instead of the debt being repaid in cash or with interest due.
Abboud tells Zawia3: “In other words, the debt is converted into assets or investments, so that the creditor countries become their owners, which directly reduces Egypt’s debt and at the same time allows the investment base to be expanded.”
But he warns that the success of this mechanism depends on Egypt’s capacity to be an attractive investment destination, noting that some countries may refuse to swap their debts for investment, preferring to receive cash repayment or traditional returns.
Recommended reading: Unemployment Figures in Egypt Fall, but Poverty Rises: Who Is Telling the Truth?
Health Legislation: The "Privatisation Law" Deepens the Shortfall in Services
The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights warned of the repercussions of the law on “Granting Concessions for Health Facilities”, which allows government hospitals to be managed by private investors.
The centre pointed out that this approach worsens the shortage of medical staff and the emigration of doctors, while government spending on health falls below the percentages set by the Constitution, which leaves the future of health care for poor groups hanging in the balance.
Recommended reading: Development versus Removal: How Did the Government Sacrifice Its Citizens for the Sake of Roads?
5. Refugee rights, citizenship and education
Refugees and Citizenship
“Disguised Deportation” of Syrian Refugees and Broad Security Campaigns
Ten human rights organisations warned of a policy of “disguised deportation” targeting Syrian refugees in Egypt through random campaigns of stops. The month of January saw intensive campaigns in the areas of “10th of Ramadan, October, Alexandria and Hurghada”, aimed at stopping young men because their residence permits had expired or they were not carrying the “yellow card”.
Nour Khalil (Refugees Platform) stressed that the politicisation of the asylum file and the difficulty of the administrative regularisation procedures have placed thousands of refugees in forced irregular situations.
For its part, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Egypt stressed, in a statement to Zawia3, that it is aware of the recent reports concerning the stopping and detention of Syrian individuals in a number of Egyptian cities and is following the situation closely, explaining that it is working with the Egyptian authorities to ensure compliance with legal procedures and that all persons who may be in need of international protection are treated in accordance with international standards.
UNHCR’s communications officer, Christine Beshay, says that the agency’s interventions on behalf of Syrians are based on its position on returns to the Syrian Arab Republic, issued in December 2024, which recommends that states commit to not carrying out any forced return measures, and urges that no Syrian national or person who was permanently resident in Syria be forcibly returned there.
Recommended reading: Syrian Refugees in Egypt: Deportation and Detention without Warning
Between Deportation and the Repatriation of Bodies: A Harsh Toll for Egyptians on the Migration Routes in Libya
Ambassador Haddad El-Gohary, Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs and Egyptians Abroad, revealed shocking statistics that reflect the scale of the tragedy faced by Egyptians in Libya. In the eastern region (Benghazi and Tobruk), consular efforts resulted in the deportation of more than 1,800 Egyptian citizens and the repatriation of the bodies of 163 victims, the most recent being the victims of a boat sinking last July. In the western region (Tripoli), 1,344 citizens were deported and 1,157 others were released from detention centres, in addition to the repatriation of 253 bodies to the homeland.
On the other hand, the “Refugees Platform in Egypt” painted a darker picture of the reality on the ground, stressing that since 2023 it has recorded a continuous flow of distress reports concerning the disappearance, abduction and detention of Egyptians, among them minors, on irregular migration routes inside Libyan territory. The platform stressed that the pace of these complaints escalated in an “accelerating and alarming” manner during 2024 and 2025, which points to the growth of human trafficking networks and the deterioration of the security situation, the price of which is paid by Egyptian migrants.
Yemeni Students Deprived of Their Right to Education
The Refugees Platform in Egypt revealed the deprivation of more than 6,000 male and female Yemeni students of their right to education inside Egypt, following the closure of schools belonging to the Arab and Yemeni communities without providing real alternatives that guarantee the continuity of the educational process, which has led to thousands of children dropping out of school and being left facing an educational vacuum that threatens their future, with no transitional plans or actual integration into the official or private education system.
The Christians’ Holidays Crisis: A Ministerial Decision Deepens Sectarian Division
A decision by the Minister of Labour setting Christians’ holidays on the basis of denomination provoked sharp criticism from the Catholic and Evangelical churches.
MP Freddy El-Bayadi, speaking to Zawia3, considered that dividing holidays along sectarian lines threatens the principle of equal citizenship, stressing his determination to question the minister in order to unify holidays for all Christians without denominational discrimination.
6. Children with disabilities and social protection
Women and Children
“Plundering Pensions”: How Are the Rights of Children with Disabilities Stolen in the Name of Guardianship?
A joint investigation by Zawia3 and ARIJ revealed a loophole in the guardianship law that allows fathers to exploit the names of their children with disabilities to obtain customs-exempt cars, which automatically leads to the cancellation of the “Karama” pension allocated to the child. The investigation highlights how the custodial mother is deprived of her children’s financial rights because “custody” is separated from “legal guardianship”, which remains in the hands of the father even in cases of obstinacy.
For her part, Manal Hanafy, head of the Central Administration for Development and Investment at the Ministry of Social Solidarity and former director of the ministry’s Central Administration for the Affairs of Persons with Disabilities, stresses that the party entitled to use the “Integrated Services Card” of a child with a disability is the one who holds legal guardianship, not merely custody; the guardian is responsible for obtaining the card, using it and receiving services on behalf of the child.
In the same context, the human rights lawyer Entessar El-Saeed, director of the Cairo Foundation for Development and Law, points out that the most prominent problems of guardianship in Egypt lie in the separation of custody from guardianship, which leads to fierce conflicts between the mother and the father’s family, and entrenches discrimination against the mother, who does not automatically obtain guardianship after the father’s death.
To read the investigation: Pensions Plundered in the Name of the Law: Children with Disabilities, Victims of Guardianship in Egypt
Domestic Violence and Parliamentary Representation: Discourses of Mockery and Stereotyping
Feminist organisations monitored a wave of mockery and stereotyping against women MPs in the new parliament, considering it a form of symbolic violence aimed at undermining women’s participation.
In another context, the organisations called for domestic violence to be considered a “public crime” following the increase in cases of killing and torture of children and women, demanding an amendment of Article 60 of the Penal Code, which grants perpetrators cover under the name of “the right to discipline”.
