Women Journalists Without Chains (WJWC) expresses its profound sorrow and deep concern over the death of Abdel-Fattah Mohamed Abdel-Maqsoud Obeido, a professor at Al-Azhar University, who passed away on April 2, 2025, at Mansoura University Hospital.

His death marks yet another tragedy in a long series of similar cases that reflect the worsening humanitarian conditions in Egyptian prisons. Abdel-Maqsoud died following a prolonged period of medical neglect, which began with his arrest on August 15, 2023, during a politically motivated security campaign. Since then, he had been held in pretrial detention without trial at Gamasa Maximum-Security Prison in Dakahlia, despite his critical and worsening health.

 Throughout his detention, Abdel-Maqsoud suffered from a number of serious and chronic health conditions, including diabetes, an enlarged spleen, internal bleeding, urinary stones, urinary tract obstruction, severe hemorrhoids, and recurrent bloody vomiting. Despite repeated signs that his health was in grave danger, prison authorities failed to respond with the necessary urgency or provide him with appropriate medical care. Instead of transferring him to a specialized facility, they offered only painkillers and basic treatments that were wholly inadequate for his condition.

 In a decision that starkly defied both legal and humanitarian obligations, the Criminal Court extended his pretrial detention by an additional 45 days. This move violated Article 143 of Egypt’s Criminal Procedure Code, which prohibits the arbitrary extension of pretrial detention and allows for alternative measures in such cases. It also breached Article 55 of the Egyptian Constitution, which guarantees the dignity and health rights of detainees, and Article 18 of the Prisons Regulation Law, which obliges prison doctors to recommend transfer to outside hospitals when a patient's condition cannot be treated within the prison system.

 Although Abdel-Maqsoud was finally transferred to Mansoura University Hospital just one week before his death, the delay rendered the intervention too late to save him. Even in those final days, his contact with family was severely limited—restricted to a few minutes behind a closed door. The circumstances of his detention and death are emblematic of a broader, systematic pattern of abuse within Egypt’s prison system, particularly in relation to medical care. WJWC views this case as part of an ongoing policy of medical neglect that, in effect, amounts to slow killing.

 Women Journalists Without Chains emphasizes that the failure to provide adequate healthcare to detainees not only violates Egypt’s domestic laws but also contravenes international human rights standards. These include the United Nations’ Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) and Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which guarantees the right to health without discrimination. The continued pattern of avoidable deaths in custody raises urgent concerns about accountability, state responsibility, and the erosion of justice.

 In light of this tragic loss, Women Journalists Without Chains calls for a prompt, transparent, and independent judicial investigation into the circumstances surrounding Abdel-Maqsoud’s death. All parties found responsible for negligence or complicity must be held to account. WJWC also calls on the Egyptian Public Prosecution to assume its legal duty to monitor the conditions of detention and safeguard the rights of prisoners, particularly those in poor health. Furthermore, it urges the National Council for Human Rights to conduct unannounced visits to Gamasa Prison and other facilities where similar patterns of abuse have been reported.

 Women Journalists Without Chains also appeals to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Committee of the Red Cross to urgently intervene and assess the medical and humanitarian conditions inside Egyptian prisons. It is imperative that international pressure be applied to ensure compliance with international standards, protect the lives of detainees, and end the ongoing policy of medical neglect.

 Finally, WJWC warns that continued silence from the international community not only allows these violations to persist but also offers indirect cover for the culture of impunity that enables them. Justice for Abdel-Maqsoud and others who have died in similar circumstances begins with accountability. The time to act is now—not only to honor those lost, but to protect those who remain behind bars.

Released by

Women Journalists Without Chains

April 9, 2025