Egyptian man dies in Tora prison after being denied adequate medical care

Egyptian man dies in Tora prison after being denied adequate medical care

On December 23, 2018, Ahmed Abdelnaby Mahmoud Sayed Ahmed and his wife Raia Abdalla Hassan Ali were removed from a boarded flight and disappeared. On March 4, 2019 the Egyptian authorities stated that they had been charged in Supreme State Security Court Case No. 884/2018. Although Raia Ali was released that same year, her husband Ahmed remained imprisoned until he died in September 2020 after being denied adequate medical care.

At 11.30 a.m. on December 23, 2018, Ahmed and his wife Raia were asked to leave a boarded flight to Istanbul. They were subsequently taken to an unknown location by airport security officers and disappeared.

Ahmed is the director of a publishing company which prints Islamic books. 22 days after their disappearance, the couple were charged in Supreme State Security Court Case No. 884/2018, with belonging to a banned group (i.e. the Muslim Brotherhood). In addition, Ahmed was charged with financing a banned group. Their daughter, who had been disappeared after dropping the couple at the airport, was released on the same day. The disappearance and detention of the couple is part of a wave of politically-motivated arrests of individuals associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Following a six-month detention, Raia was released, pending trial. The condition of her parole requires that she visits the local police every Friday and visits the Institute of Police Trustees in Tora every 45 days.

Despite his repeated pleas for adequate medical care, Ahmed’s requests were denied and he remained imprisoned until he died on September 2, 2020.


Timeline

September 2, 2020: Ahmed passes away in Tora prison after being denied adequate medical care.
June 2019: Raia Ali is released on probation, pending trial.
March 4, 2019: Egyptian authorities reply to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, stating that Ahmed and Raia have been “charged in Supreme State Security Court Case No. 884/2018”.
Mid-January 2019: Ahmed and Raia appear before the Public Prosecution Office and are formally charged.
December 26, 2018: MENA Rights Group requests the urgent intervention of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.
December 23, 2018: Removed from flight and disappeared.

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