The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights/EIPR has called for a full investigation into alleged abuses at Egypt’s Badr Prison Complex in a new report published Monday.
Titled “Between Propaganda and Reality,” the report highlights sharp contradictions between government claims and prisoner testimonies. It accuses authorities of masking widespread abuse under the image of a modern, high-tech facility.
“These deaths were preventable. Continuing on this path means allowing slow, deliberate killings to persist under the cover of impunity,” the report warned.
Inside Badr: surveillance, secrecy, and suffering
Egypt’s Badr Prison Complex, touted by the state as a cutting-edge “rehabilitation center,” is, according to human rights groups, a walled-off zone of silence and cruelty.
EIPR in its latest report, alleges a pattern of grave abuse hidden beneath polished government narratives. The findings draw on testimonies from inmates, families, and lawyers—sources that remain indirect, as civil society is barred from prison visits and public prosecutors have failed to conduct meaningful inspections.
Government denials have been swift. In April, the Interior Ministry dismissed earlier allegations as fabrications and insisted that all prison facilities meet international standards. But behind official videos showing gleaming corridors and manicured courtyards, EIPR documents what it calls a “deliberate system of isolation and neglect.”
Transfers without warning, Lives without contact
Badr’s high-tech sheen masks an opaque bureaucracy. Prisoners are often moved there without notice, leaving families scrambling to locate loved ones. EIPR describes the process as one of “complete administrative opacity.” Even basic logistics remain broken: detainees arrive with no belongings, canteens are shuttered or unaffordable, and Badr 1 lacks a functioning postal code, making it difficult to send money or supplies.
Modern surveillance, medieval conditions
Surveillance is constant, EIPR says. Cameras monitor every cell, shared or solitary, and lights stay on around the clock. Inmates report sleep deprivation, chronic food shortages, and a chilling lack of medical care. At least eight people have died inside Badr since 2022, allegedly due to untreated conditions.
Hunger strikes and suicide attempts
With few legal avenues available, inmates have resorted to hunger strikes and suicide attempts in protest. A strike in November 2024 followed months of deteriorating conditions, including bans on family visits and prolonged solitary confinement. The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms described conditions as worse than Al-Aqrab Prison, a facility long associated with torture and extreme isolation.
Demands for reform and accountability
EIPR’s recommendations are sweeping: launch independent investigations, suspend implicated officials, and release detainees held beyond legal pretrial limits. The group also called for monthly prison inspections, public reporting, and removing prison medical staff from the authority of the Interior Ministry and placing them under the Ministry of Health.
EIPR’s other demands included signing the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and enshrining legal guarantees for family visits and phone calls. The group also called for remote education access, including online learning and exams, and the removal of pandemic-era visitation restrictions that remain in place. It further urged a ban on surveillance cameras in cells, which it described as a violation of privacy and human dignity.
“Denial won’t help,” the report said bluntly. “Transparency is the only way to stop the rot inside Egypt’s prisons.”
EIPR is not alone. In July, the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms linked a spate of suicide attempts to solitary confinement at Badr 3. One inmate, Alaa El-Selmi, reportedly died after being denied urgent medical care.
In August 2025, ten rights groups renewed calls for family visits and weekly food deliveries. They also demanded the unconditional release of detainees held on political charges.
These calls echo earlier appeals. In March 2023, 38 organizations—including international NGOs—urged Egypt to allow access to Badr for the International Committee of the Red Cross and independent monitors. Fourteen of those groups issued a joint warning about the “rapidly deteriorating” conditions inside.
