Protests and Clashes Inside “Badr 1 Prison” — The “Freedom Captives in Egypt” Campaign Sounds the Alarm

This post is also available in: English

Geneva | June 15, 2026

The “Freedom Captives in Egypt” Campaign is following with grave concern the mounting reports and testimonies submitted by the families of political detainees held in “Badr 1 Prison,” which reveal a dangerous and unprecedented escalation in methods of repression and violation behind the impenetrable walls of this facility.

The Policy of Confiscation and Collective Punishment as a Tool of Torment

Testimonies from detainees’ families document repeated and arbitrary search campaigns carried out by prison forces, targeting the systematic confiscation of political captives’ personal belongings and basic living necessities — the very items that help them endure the harshness of detention. This conduct can only be described as a systematic policy of humiliation and will-breaking, in flagrant violation of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.

Total Isolation and Acute Psychological Pressure on Families

This torment has not been confined to stripping captives of their material needs inside their cells. These repressive measures have been compounded by the prison administration’s complete severing of all communication channels and the total prohibition of family visits.

This isolation subjects the families of captives to acute psychological pressure, depriving hundreds of families of any reassurance regarding the safety and fate of their loved ones behind the walls — conduct that rises to the level of sustained psychological torture inflicted upon both the detainees and their families alike.

The “Freedom Captives in Egypt” Campaign hereby declares to Egyptian and international public opinion the following:

We condemn in the strongest possible terms all repressive measures carried out at Badr 1 Prison — including degrading searches, forced confiscation, and the total siege on family visitation.

We hold the Egyptian authorities and the prison administration fully accountable — legally and morally — for the physical and psychological wellbeing of all political captives.

We demand the immediate restoration of visitation rights, and that families and lawyers be granted direct access to detainees to verify their safety and condition.

We call upon all international organizations and human rights bodies to intervene urgently, to shine a light on what is taking place inside the dungeons of Badr 1 Prison, and to hold those responsible for these egregious violations accountable.

The Campaign calls upon international civil society, global solidarity movements, and all people of conscience to stand with political captives in Egypt, and to intensify diplomatic and human rights efforts to ensure the restoration of their freedom and the breaking of their chains of captivity.

They are not prisoners — they are captives.

#Freedom_Captives_in_Egypt

Signatory Organizations:

EFDI International for Human Rights — Belgium

Justice for Human Rights — Turkey

Human Rights Monitor — London

Free Voice for Human Rights — Paris

Tawasol for Human Rights — The Hague

Association of Victims of Torture — Geneva

Council of Egyptians’ Rights — Geneva

AlKarama for Human Rights — Geneva

Human Rights Solidarity Organization — Geneva

CEDAR Center for Legal Studies — Lebanon