France on Monday expressed concern after the announcement of the death of young Egyptian director Shadi Habash in prison, and called on Cairo to respect its international "obligations" regarding conditions of detention, at a time when the United Nations called for an investigation into the case.
"Reports of Shadi Habash's death in prison are disturbing," said a French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman.
Habash directed a video of a song criticizing Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and he died Saturday in Tora prison in Cairo, at the age of 24, according to his lawyer.
"France is conducting an open dialogue with Cairo in the field of human rights, which is part of our bilateral relationship," the foreign ministry spokeswoman added.
"In this context, France recalls that the conditions of detention of prisoners must be consistent with the obligations set out in the relevant international treaties." Shadi Habash was imprisoned in March 2018 for "spreading false news" and "belonging to a group founded in violation of the law."
On Monday, the United Nations called for a full investigation into the death of the aforementioned director, at a press conference held by the spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Stephen Dujarric, in a television interview with journalists at the headquarters of the International Organization in New York.
After his release, the young director stopped a videotape of a song called "Balha" by Rami Essam, and political opponents called that Sisi, referring to a cinematographer who is famous for lying.
Singer Rami Essam, who is outside Egypt, said on his Facebook page on Saturday that the photographer and director Shadi Habash died in Tora prison, south of Cairo.
Issam also stated in a statement posted on his website that Habash has been imprisoned since March 2018 after he released one of his songs.
The singer emphasized that Habash was not related to the content of the song, which was known at that time to attack Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and carried criticism and ridicule of the accomplishments announced, and the song that was banned in Egypt was seen more than 5 million times on YouTube.
Human rights organizations continue to criticize the conditions of detention in Egyptian prisons. Since the beginning of last March, the Egyptian authorities have suspended visits to prisoners, worsening their isolation.
Several NGOs estimate the number of political prisoners in the country at 60,000 out of 100,000, including Islamist and liberal opponents who were subjected to a crackdown after the military overthrew the late President Mohamed Morsi, who belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013.