Thread by @monaeltahawy

#Coronavirus: #Egypt's Prisons Could Spare Disaster with Conditional Releases.
In crowded, unhygienic prisons, the spread of the disease presents a serious threat. Will President Sisi put reason before punishment? - @ganobi @hrw hrw.org/news/2020/03/1… #COVID19

#Egyptian prisons are notorious for being overcrowded, dirty and unhygienic. Last November, UN experts said that #Egypt’s abusive detention conditions “may be placing the health and lives of thousands [of] prisoners at severe risk.” #COVID19

Sisi has fiercely suppressed dissent, arresting tens of thousands of people, many of them critics, writers, journalists, human rights defenders, bloggers and peaceful protesters. Thousands have been jailed without trial, caught in #Egypt’s abusive pretrial detention system.

Many are kept in police stations, security directorates and unofficial detention sites, such as security forces training sites. A May 2015 report from the National Council for Human Rights said that police stations were 300% over capacity and prisons 160% over capacity. #Egypt

On March 10 #Egypt issued a 10-day, nationwide halt on prison visits by families and lawyers. To make things worse, on Thursday, Egypt witnessed rare, severe weather - streets flooded, power down in many areas and roofs damaged with a number of fatalities.

Families with “unofficial” ways to communicate with jailed relatives reported that some prisons in #Cairo witnessed water leaks and electricity cuts.When families tried to send soap & disinfectants to their jailed relatives, the prison administration refused. #CoronavirusOutbreak