Maat calls on the Public Prosecutor to activate his powers in monitoring prisons.

And the investigation into the events of the Arish prison fire and the torture of Burj Al Arab inmates

Maat Center followed with great concern the news of a fire in the wards of Al-Arish Central Prison yesterday morning - Friday - and a number of prisoners and detainees suffocated, amid reports of ill-treatment by the prison administration, and official denial of security sources of the incident or referring it to other details and another time, despite the investigations The ongoing woman with 4 inmates who have been accused of causing the fire, and the circulation of news about the North Sinai Security Directorate administration of the prison instead of the Prisons Authority, which cites his violation of the "regulations" of the Egyptian prison organization.

The news of the assault on about 18 detainees in Burj Al Arab Prison during the past few hours received severe condemnation, due to the continued abuse of prison inmates in their political capacity, with ill-treatment of their lawyers and their families during visits controlled by representatives of security agencies who were said to have practiced torture against detainees, abuse of female workers and the use of power.

The Center notes the absence of any role for the Public Prosecution and its head - the Attorney General - from the frequent chaos inside the Egyptian prison, which necessitates his intervention to stop it or the assignment of an investigation committee on its side, or an independent judicial committee in light of the denial of human rights organizations from repeated visits prepared in advance to other prisons, especially the remote ones as well. The center noticed that the recent successive events coincided with the statements of the Assistant Minister of Interior for the Prisons Sector published in Al-Akhbar newspaper on June 27, in which prisons were depicted as “a copy of human homes or much better than them,” to the extent that the center felt that the ministry’s spokesperson was referring to a state. Others and prisons in a country that respects the judicial rulings issued in favor of the detainees and applies them to the fullest extent.

The Center notes that Article 8 of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners issued by the First United Nations Conference on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Criminals in 1955 and approved by the Economic and Social Council in July 1957 obligates governments to classify prisoners and detainees and distribute them to wards and detention centers for each sex, age, and political or criminal record. While respecting their right to receive decent treatment in line with their qualification requirements, Article 27 of it refers to the adoption of firmness to create discipline and order without imposing unnecessary restrictions on inmates, and Article 32 refers to guaranteeing the highest levels of health care for prisoners and the commitment of prison doctors to their profession charter to safeguard the safety of prisoners.

As for the Guiding Principles on the Role of Public Prosecutors, which were adopted by the Eighth United Nations Conference on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Criminals on September 7, 1990, Article 11 of them refers to the role of the Public Prosecution Office as a representative of the public interest, whereby its members play their role in criminal proceedings, including the investigation of crimes. And overseeing the legality of investigations, overseeing the implementation of court decisions, and the exercise of their other duties..and, according to Article 15, they must “give due attention to prosecutions related to crimes committed by public officials, especially those related to corruption, abuse of power, gross violations of human rights, and so on. Among the crimes stipulated in international law, and to investigate these crimes if the law permits it or if it is in line with local practice.

Accordingly, Maat demands the Attorney General to activate his powers in monitoring prisons and evacuating them from detainees acquitted by judicial rulings and ensuring the good treatment of prisoners, and stressing the commitment of the Ministry of Interior to implement real and effective programs for reintegration and rehabilitation of prisoners, while subjecting their employment projects and budgets to the control of society and responsible agencies, and a commitment to apply the principles of individualization. Punitive and classifying prisoners, ending the phenomenon of detaining politicians with criminals, raising the efficiency of those in charge of social services for prisoners, detainees and their families, specialists and supervisors, and paying attention to real reforms that support the slogan “prison reform, rehabilitation and refinement,” but they are calls that do not exclude with them the idea of the need to transfer prisons to the Ministry of Justice and emptying it Interior and its men to protect community security.