RNA - Essam Derbala, a member of Egypt’s Building and Development Party (BDP), died on Sunday in government custody at al-Aqrab jail, located on the outskirts of the capital, Cairo, marking one of the latest incidents in the case of inmate fatality blamed on “medical negligence” of prison authorities.
The cause of the death was described in a BDP statement as "deliberate medical negligence" on the part of prison authorities.
According to the BDP statement, which insisted that Egyptian prison officials had resorted to the practice of “torture” against Derbala, the prominent political activist was consistently "deprived from medicine" while in government custody. The BDP called for an “international investigation” into his death.
On Sunday, Mohamed Mahdi Akef, another political detainee who was formerly the chairman of the Brotherhood, also died due to a medical condition in a police station in Egypt’s second largest city of Alexandria.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s Interior Ministry released its own statement regarding Derbala’s death, claiming that he passed away due to "circulatory failure."
It also added that the activist was granted "first aid" on Saturday after complaining about "fatigue" and suffering from "low blood pressure" following his return from a court session and before being transported to the hospital where he died.
Derbala was detained in May on charges of joining the pro-Brotherhood anti-coup alliance, a coalition formed in 2013 to demand the reinstatement of Mohamed Morsi, the first democratically elected president of Egypt, who was ousted in a July 2013 coup led by the then head of the armed forces and current president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Nearly 150 Egyptian prisoners, mostly political detainees, have died in custody since Morsi’s ouster due to "medical negligence," according to several local and international human rights organizations.
Morsi himself has reportedly asked to be transferred to a private medical center, claiming that an attempt has been made to poison him inside the prison.
In addition to the two Brotherhood figures who died on Sunday, Mahmoud Hanafy, 58, an anti-government activist, died in the al-Raml police station in the Montazah neighborhood of Alexandria on August 7. He was denied access to medical treatment.
Ahmed Hussein Ghozlan was another Brotherhood leader who died inside his cell in el-Aba’diah prison in the northern province of Beheira in late July.
In a brutal government crackdown on pro-Morsi protest rallies following his ouster, at least 1,400 people have been killed and thousands arrested and jailed by security forces. Many of the detained people have been sentenced to death or long prison terms in mass trials.
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