CAIRO (Middle East Eye) – Former Egyptian presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul-Fotouh has been subjected to a “barbaric” assault by guards in his cell at the notorious Tora prison complex, according to his family.
Aboul-Fotouh, 71, a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood and leader of the opposition party Strong Egypt, was allegedly attacked on 23 March at the complex’s Tora Farm Prison, the family said in a statement on Facebook.
According to a legal source, who spoke to the independent Egyptian online newspaper Mada Masr on condition of anonymity, Aboul-Fotouh, who ran for president in 2012, was preparing to file an official complaint with the public prosecutor.
As a result of the alleged assault, Aboul-Fotouh, who has had multiple heart attacks and other chronic health issues while in detention, had an episode of angina, according to the statement. Aboul-Fotouh has long complained of medical negligence since his arrest and detention in February 2018, a practice that has been widely documented in Egyptian prisons by human rights groups.
He was arrested that year on charges of spreading false news to harm national interests. He has since faced several other charges but has not been brought to trial.
Aboul-Fotouh is one of at least 60,000 political prisoners estimated to have been jailed since Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi took power in a coup in 2013.
Sisi overthrew Mohamed Morsi who was affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Several Brotherhood leaders have died in custody in recent years, including Morsi and former MP Essam el-Erian.
Rights groups have said their deaths were most likely due to medical negligence and poor conditions in jails.
According to the Geneva-based Committee for Justice, since Sisi’s coup at least 731 people have died in custody due to denial of healthcare.