IAPL
In a serious escalation to the violence against activists and HRDs held in Badr 1 prison, security forces this morning arrested Mrs. Neamatallah Hesham, wife of human rights lawyers and political prisoner Mohamed El Baqer from her home. Her whereabouts remain unknown until the time of releasing this statement.
The signatories to this statement call for the immediate release of Mrs. Neama Hisham, who did not commit a crime, but sought help from the violence that her husband has been subjected to by the Badr Prison 1 administration, after she saw him during the visit yesterday injured in the mouth, ribs and wrist as a result of the assault he and his cellmates suffered.
The undersigned organizations also condemn the incidents of beating and ill-treatment to which prisoners in Badr 1 prison were subjected (political activist Ahmed Doma, human rights lawyer Muhammad al-Baqer, journalist Muhammad Oxygen, and political activist Hamid Siddiq), at the hands of the Badr 1 prison administration, and demand the opening of a speedy official and independent investigation in these incidents and attacks, investigation of the warden of Badr 1 prison, and the formation of an independent committee of jurists and civil society organizations to examine the conditions in Badr prisons and to clarify the validity of what is reported about the practices of torture and collective abuse. The organizations also call on the Public Prosecutor to quickly investigate the communication submitted to him by the lawyer of the family of Muhammad Al-Baqer (No. 385866).
The events of the incident date back to Monday, April 10, 2023, when detainee, Hamid Siddiq, refused to leave his cell to go to a detention renewal session, citing his poor psychological state due to the recent death of his wife and his rotation on a new case after the legal period of pre-trial detention had expired. Then, the prison warden, using an antiriot force, forcefully pulled him out of his cell, beat him with clubs and kicked him in the face with their shoes, and ordered his transfer to a disciplinary cell, wrapped in a blanket. Muhammad Oxygen intervened, trying to prevent the attack on a friend, and asked for help from Ahmed Doma and the neighboring cells in the ward, but the warden assaulted them and gagged their mouths with a piece of cloth, which, according to Al-Baqer’s wife, led to a prominent injury in his wrist and mouth, in addition to the injury of Muhammad Oxygen in the neck and ribs, and transferred all of them to disciplinary cells with nothing on but their underwear. They were kept there throughout the day without food, drink, or medication until Wednesday morning, when they were allowed to bring in some medicines, bottles of water, and one loaf of bread with a small piece of cheese. On Thursday, Baqer, Oxygen, and Hamid Siddiq were returned to the prison ward, but in separate solitary cells and without any of their belongings, in addition to depriving them of exercise and time out of the cell.
