Call for Immediate Release After Years of Detention Without Trial.
Hashad has been using a prosthetic limb due to the amputation of his leg following an accident when he was only six years old. This limb requires periodic maintenance every six months at most to adjust it to his weight, size, and health condition. For the past five years, specifically since his arrest, his family has been trying to obtain the necessary medical examination to acquire a new prosthetic limb, but their efforts have been in vain.
According to his family, security forces in the Menoufia Governorate arrested 26-year-old Aqaba Ala’a Hashad on May 19, 2019, when he was a student at the Faculty of Commerce at the University of Sadat City. He was then held in an undisclosed location away from the outside world for 77 days, during which he endured psychological and physical torture. Subsequently, he underwent medical intervention by doctors affiliated with Egyptian security agencies before being presented to the Shubin Al-Kom Prosecution on August 1, 2019. He was charged with joining a group against the law, participating in protests aimed at overthrowing the regime and possessing firearms. He has been in pretrial detention since then on case file number 7769 for the year 2019, administered by Ashmoun.
Despite the refusal to allow his lawyer access to the case file or confront him with any evidence of the aforementioned charges, the Foundation stated, “Obtaining necessary medical care, humane treatment, and preserving the dignity of all prisoners are fundamental rights guaranteed by the Egyptian Constitution, as well as by national legislation related to prisoners’ rights. These rights are also ensured by international covenants and treaties to which Egypt is a signatory. It is inconceivable and unacceptable to use the health of prisoners and detainees as a means of punishment or revenge, as in the case of Aqaba. Rather, everyone who deprives a prisoner of their legal right to healthcare should be subjected to legal consequences.”
