A new victim in Egyptian prisons .. The death of an Egyptian-American prisoner as a result of his hunger strike

Egyptian human rights sources reported that the Egyptian-American citizen Mustafa Qassem, who was convicted in the case of ending a fourth sit-in, had died in his prison as a result of his hunger strike. Mustafa Qasim's daughter said that her father had been subjected to intentional neglect that led to his death. The United States has expressed concern about the human rights situation in Egypt, especially those detained in Egyptian prisons.

Egyptian-American activist Aya Hegazy confirmed the news of the death of her citizen Mustafa Qassem, and Egyptian human rights activists outside Egypt, including Ahmed Mufreh, Salma Ashraf and Haitham Abu Khalil, confirmed the news of Qasim's death.

In 2017, US President Donald Trump received Aya Hegazy after her release, after a court ruling acquitted her of charges related to her human rights activities, under American pressure on Cairo, which Aya spoke about on more than one occasion.

On the basis of media reports, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised the case of Mustafa Qassem during his meeting with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, last month.

This case was also present during a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in early 2018. It is reported that Mustafa Kassem was arrested five years without any charges being brought against him, then he was sentenced to 15 years in prison in a group trial involving 700 people .

Moreover, Qasim’s death comes two days after dozens of detainees in Scorpion Prison in Tora Prison Area, south of the Egyptian capital, were fainted as they continued an open hunger strike, in protest against the deaths of two political prisoners during one week due to the severe cold, the journalist Mahmoud Abdel-Majid Saleh, who died in prison Scorpio, and Alaeddin Saeed, who died in the Burj Al Arab prison.

The detainees - who numbered about three hundred and started their strike last Saturday - also protest what they say is starvation by the prison authorities, as well as the denial of clothing and blankets.

The striking prisoners say that the prison administration withdrew the heating devices despite the cold winter, reduced the number of blankets, confiscated winter clothes and reduced the amount of food. They add that this is done in concrete cells designed to prevent the entry of the sun's heat and not to prevent the cold.