Farewell to the vocabulary of the prison and the jailer.. The Egyptian parliament approves legislation on places of detention

CAIRO -

Under the new law approved by the Egyptian Parliament two days ago, the words “prison” and “liman” have become a thing of the past. ".

The explanatory note issued by the government on the law indicated that the new provisions in the legislation come within the framework of a government plan to develop penal institutions in terms of names and buildings, and to provide all services and care for inmates to rehabilitate them socially, integrate them into society and benefit from their capabilities, through development programs and plans and taking into account their rights.

Over the years, Egyptian prisons were divided into 4 types, namely public prisons, limans (non-central prisons), central prisons, in addition to private prisons established by a decision of the President of the Republic.

The differences between the four prisons were according to the degree of judicial path of the detainee and the prescribed penalties.

The jailer is a supervisor and the prisoner is an inmate

Under the new amendments, the name of the "prison sector" of the Ministry of Interior will be changed to the "community protection sector", the name "Reform and Rehabilitation Center" will be replaced by "prison", and the "public reform and rehabilitation center" will be called "Liman", and as for the central prison, it will become known as "" Geographical Correction Center.

According to the new law, the prison warden's title will be changed to the director of the correctional center, the jailer will become a supervisor, and the prisoner will be an inmate.

The Minister of Interior shall issue a decision specifying the bodies in which public reform and rehabilitation centers and geographical correction centers shall be established.

The right to education

The new amendments to Article 31 of the law establish the educational rights of inmates;

It grants the prisoner the right to sit the exams prescribed for him in the public reform and rehabilitation centers.

The inmate has the right to perform oral or practical examinations outside the correctional and rehabilitation centers when necessary;

Provided that there is no security risk from his transfer outside the reform center, and this risk is estimated by the Minister of Interior or his authorized representative.

The administration of public reform and rehabilitation centers should encourage inmates to see and learn, and to facilitate the study for those who have the desire to complete their studies.

Notifying the inmate of the papers required to be notified to him in person, and his understanding of what they contained in the presence of the director of the General or Geographical Reform and Rehabilitation Center, as the case may be, or whoever takes their place, in accordance with the ruling of the Supreme Constitutional Court, which stipulates that the documents required to be announced must be proven to be delivered to the prisoner himself.

Number of prisons and prisoners

- Just two months before President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi took power, that is, in April 2014, the number of prisons in Egypt did not exceed 42 prisons within 25 prison areas, according to what was published by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, a human rights organization.

The number of prisons in Egypt reached 78 prisons until April 2021, comprising about 120,000 prisoners, including about 65,000 political prisoners and detainees, and about 54,000 prisoners and criminal detainees, according to a report by the Arab Network for Human Rights Information.

- In November 2019, the journalist close to the authority, Muhammad Al-Baz, quoted an unnamed source in the prison sector, that the number of prisoners in Egypt is 110,000 citizens, including 84,000 prisoners who have been sentenced and 26,000 prisoners are in pretrial detention pending cases.

– There is no official statistics from the Ministry of Interior on the number of prisoners inside places of detention.

- During a press interview with Major General Hisham El-Baradei, Assistant Minister of Interior for the Prisons Sector - in January 2021 - he said that the number of prisons in Egypt is 47, denying all the figures circulated in the media about the number of prisoners.

In early June 2021, the country’s Official Gazette published the decisions of the Minister of Interior to establish two new central prisons, and after about 20 days a ministerial decision was issued to build 8 new central prisons, according to what newspapers close to the authority published.

- The Egyptian Ministry of Interior announced last October the opening of the largest prison complex in Egypt in the Wadi El-Natrun region, which will lead to the closure of 12 old prisons, which represent 25% of the total prisons, according to official data.

But what about prison conditions in Egypt?

According to a report issued by Amnesty International in 2020, prison conditions are harsh and inhumane, as prisoners complained of overcrowding, poor ventilation, lack of hygiene and sanitation conditions, insufficient food and drinking water, as well as political detainees being subjected to torture and solitary confinement.

– A report by Human Rights Watch included a criticism of Egyptian prison conditions, saying, “Deteriorating conditions in Egyptian prisons and detention centers are still not subject to independent monitoring, and the authorities often deny sick prisoners access to adequate health care, and according to "Committee for Justice - an independent organization - 57 prisoners - most of them held for political reasons - died in custody in the first eight months of 2021."

- Last February, the official page of the Ministry of Interior on social media published a video clip showing details of the Reform and Rehabilitation Center in Wadi al-Natrun receiving a delegation from the National Council for Human Rights, whose members are appointed by the Egyptian authorities.

The human rights delegation commended the system of modern punitive policy followed by the Ministry of Interior within the Reform and Rehabilitation Center, after they were briefed on the center's equipment, and the reform programs used to rehabilitate inmates.