Egyptian rights group's director held in solitary confinement, lawyers say
Gasser Abdel-Razek and two of his colleagues were arrested in what experts say is a renewed crackdown on human rights defenders.
Gasser Abdel-Razek, the head of one of Egypt’s top human rights organizations, has been held in solitary confinement following his arrest last week, his lawyers say.
Egyptian security forces have arrested three senior members of the Cairo-based Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) this month in what’s viewed as an escalating crackdown on groups that promote fundamental freedoms in Egypt.
Abdel-Razek, Mohamed Basheer and Karim Ennarah were each accused of membership in a terrorist group and of spreading false news. They remain in pre-trial detention at the notorious Tora Prison complex.
“Gasser told lawyers he is kept in solitary in Leman Tora [prison], all his belongings and money were confiscated, he sleeps on a metal bed with neither mattress nor winter clothes,” EIPR said on Twitter.
