Friday March 29th, 2024
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#IWantToBreath Highlights Egypt's Inhumane Jail Conditions Amidst Heat Wave

Egyptians have taken to social media, placing plastic bags over their heads to spread awareness about Egypt's inhumane jail conditions amidst the current heat wave using hastags #عايز_أتنفس or #IWantToBreath.

Staff Writer

It’s extremely hot this week in Egypt, and while many complain about how unbearable it is, others have taken to social media to highlight the plight of prisoners in extraordinarilyy harsh conditions by sharing photos of users with plastic bags over their heads under the hashtags #عايز_أتنفس  or #IWantToBreath.

Although the heat wave is expected to end on Tuesday, many have taken the recent unseasonably hot weather as an opportunity to remind the world that the number of political prisoners are on the rise and that the unbearable heat is likely a lot worse inside Egypt’s decrepit jails.


Rough translation: Toda,y when you are complaining about the summer heat, remember that there are 107 Egyptian youth imprisoned in an inhumane prison


 

Rough translation: It's 45 degrees, exactly as the same number of prisoners in one cell, the prisoner is a human, that prisoner is not the victim but the one to blame is a human.


Rough translation: From "freedom, human dignity!" we reached now to be wanting one thing, which is they treat our prisoners right. Is that too much?

According a 2014 report by the Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights monitoring group, an estimated 41,000 people had been detained, many on charges related to political activity and demonstrations. This number is expected to be a lot higher, as political arrests have become routine since the report was filed. The report also claimed that, in 2014, as many as 90 detainees have died within Egyptian jails.

The conditions of Egyptian jails are notoriously dreadful and often called inhumane. Coupled with the increased number of arrests and current inhumane jail conditions, Egypt is trying to manage the problem by opening 10 new prisons since 2011, and have plans to build as many as 16 new prisons.