Free the Prisoners!

Statement by the Revolutionary Socialists

While countries around the world are preparing to combat the transformation of the novel Coronavirus into a pandemic by suspending classes, halting communal prayers, and reducing overcrowding in facilities like schools and prisons, nearly 60,000 political detainees remain imprisoned in the Egyptian regime’s jails, in addition to tens of thousands of criminal inmates whose exact numbers are difficult to ascertain. Everyone is aware of the dire conditions in Egyptian prisons, including overcrowded cells, bans on visits and exercise, a scarcity of cleaning and disinfection supplies, a lack of healthcare, and the rampant spread of medical neglect and infectious diseases.

Despite the regime’s boast of transparency with the World Health Organization, there is widespread skepticism among observers regarding the Ministry of Health’s data or any measures taken by the government to curb the spread of the disease. It appears the government is more concerned with projecting an image of control in hopes of keeping the economy running and saving the stock market and tourism from the specter of collapse, regardless of the anxiety that grips millions of Egyptians who find themselves caught between the hammer of a potential outbreak and the anvil of a collapsing healthcare system.

If this is the situation outside the prisons, imagine the anxiety and helplessness that grips tens of thousands of prisoners living in inhumane conditions with virtually nonexistent healthcare under the threat of infection. The Revolutionary Socialists demand that the regime reveal all facts, projections, and measures planned by the state to combat the virus and the potential spread of the infection. We call for the immediate release of all political detainees and those who have served half of their sentences under any humane guarantees determined by the court. Additionally, we demand that testing be provided free of charge in both government and private hospitals.