The Egyptian Front for Human Rights (EFHR) published a report titled ‘Have the New Prisons Improved Detainee Conditions?’ The report serves as a form of impact assessment, evaluating whether the establishment of five newly operational prison, Badr 1, Badr 3, Wadi al-Natrun, and 10th of Ramadan (men’s and women’s), presented by the authorities as part of penal reform, has in practice improved detainees’ rights and living conditions. Based on testimonies from former detainees, their families, and their lawyers, the report reveals that structural and infrastructural upgrades have not translated into substantive improvements. Persistent problems remain in management, healthcare, nutrition, and visitation rights, with documented cases of deaths and hunger strikes. These findings highlight the need for genuine reform of prison management policies, rather than cosmetic infrastructure projects and public-relations campaigns.
Introduction
The construction of new prisons began in 2021 as part of efforts to replace older facilities. This coincided with the launch of the National Human Rights Strategy in the same year, which included in its prisoner-rights component the creation of new prisons to reduce overcrowding and improve detainees’ living standards and healthcare. Alongside this, amendments were made to Prison Law No. 396 of 1956 under Law No. 14 of 2022. The amendments introduced new terminology into Egypt’s prison system, replacing the term “prison” with “rehabilitation and correction center,” “prisoner” with “inmate,” and the “Prisons Sector” with the “Community Protection Sector,” in line with the officially declared penal policy reforms aimed at improving prisoners’ lives.
The new prison complexes, or rehabilitation and correction centers, include Badr Prison Complex (established by ministerial decree in 2021), Wadi al-Natrun Prison Complex (2021), 10th of Ramadan Prison Complex (2023), Akhmim Prison in Sohag, and the new 15th of May Prison.
Through the New Prisons Observatory, EFHR has sought to track conditions in these facilities in light of the structural and policy reforms announced by the Ministry of Interior, the National Human Rights Strategy, and the National Council for Human Rights. This was done by documenting the accounts of 16 former detainees, family members of current detainees, in addition to defense lawyers, while also monitoring incidents and protests inside the prisons to present a comprehensive picture of whether meaningful progress has been achieved.
Geographic Location of the New Prisons
The new correction centers/ prisons were built far from older urban areas, in the extensions of newly planned cities. They are located at least 60 kilometers from Cairo, as in the case of Badr and 10th of Ramadan, and up to 80 kilometers away, as with Wadi al-Natrun near Sadat City. At the same time, these complexes are not situated near the cities whose administrative extensions they belong to, leaving them outside the routes of public and private transportation. Families and visitors report significant burdens in reaching these facilities.
The geographical remoteness of these prisons reflects shortcomings in planning, as construction policies failed to adopt a holistic approach that considers all stakeholders. The social implications of location were largely ignored when selecting sites for these complexes.
Construction Codes and Infrastructure
Although the new rehabilitation centers/ prisons have, in general, provided more space compared to older prisons, they remain plagued by several infrastructure problems. The designs did not incorporate environmental considerations such as climate or location.
In many respects, the new prisons replicate the flaws of older ones. They rely on poor building codes that neglect proper ventilation and natural lighting in cells and wards. According to multiple testimonies, the only sources of air and light are small openings near the ceiling, covered with iron bars, which fail to allow sufficient sunlight or airflow for the number of detainees housed. These conditions create an environment prone to disease and infection, putting prisoners’ physical and mental health at serious risk. The absence of glass or wood fittings on these openings also leaves detainees exposed to extreme cold in winter, particularly given the remote and harsh locations of the facilities.
The prisons also suffer from frequent sewage blockages despite their recent construction. Access to clean and reliable drinking water is another major problem: detainees and their families report repeated water shortages, with available water often unfit for consumption and suspected to be treated wastewater—a likely consequence of the prisons’ isolated locations, far from residential infrastructure. In some facilities, the number of toilets in cells is also insufficient for the inmate population.
On the medical front, the Ministry of Interior announced at the opening of the new complexes that they had been equipped with specialized medical units, including operating rooms, laboratories, radiology facilities, and dialysis units. The complexes also include in-house courtrooms for trials and detention-renewal hearings, introducing the system of remote or electronic litigation and reducing the need for prisoner transfers to external courts.
Prisoners’ Rights and Living Standards in the New Prisons
Despite official announcements by the Ministry of Interior presenting the opening of the new prison complexes as part of reforms to modernize penal policies and improve detainees’ living conditions, testimonies indicate that prisoners’ rights have not witnessed substantial improvement. Moving to larger, newly constructed facilities has not translated into meaningful changes in daily life.
Authority and Management Policies in the New Prisons
The management of the new prisons involves both officers from the Prisons Authority and agents of the National Security Agency (NSA). Since the facilities hold both political and criminal detainees, NSA officers exercise sweeping powers over political prisoners, from cell assignments and daily living arrangements to regulating their contact with the outside world, including visits and correspondence.
This mirrors the situation in older prisons and raises serious concerns, particularly given past allegations of torture and abuse involving NSA officers, and the questionable legality of their authority since the agency is not formally part of the prison system. In addition, there is no evidence that prison authorities provide detainees with information about their rights upon admission, nor are there visible notices or guidelines posted in cells or common areas to inform inmates of their rights under the Prison Law and its executive regulations.
Furnishing of Cells
Furnishings vary from one prison to another, and even between cells within the same facility. Overall, it cannot be said that the new prisons provide a consistent improvement. Unlike women’s prisons, where each inmate generally has a bed, many men’s prisons lack beds for all prisoners, forcing them to sleep on the floor. This is particularly harmful to older detainees and those with medical conditions.
Cells typically lack refrigerators to store food brought during visits, heaters to warm meals, and chairs for basic comfort. In some facilities, cells are not even equipped with ventilation fans.
Exercise
Despite infrastructural upgrades, prisoners’ right to exercise remains limited. In most cases, exercise is confined to within cell blocks, without access to outdoor yards. The duration also varies arbitrarily—from 15 minutes a day to one or two hours, depending on the prisoner. In some prisons, such as Badr 3, exercise is completely denied, even within the cell blocks.
Nutrition
In the new prisons, inmates are provided with two meals per day. However, prisoners consistently complain about their poor quality and irregular distribution, depending on management’s discretion. Bringing in food from outside—even at the prisoner’s own expense—is prohibited. Instead, only limited items are sold through the prison canteen at exorbitant prices, forcing prisoners to rely on it.
Inmates are compelled to accept and consume the prison meals; refusal risks punishment through solitary confinement or the confiscation of belongings. Testimonies indicate that meal portions are insufficient for an adult, contributing to widespread illness and malnutrition—conditions no better than those in older prisons.
Elderly and chronically ill detainees sometimes receive slightly larger rations and occasional protein sources such as milk or yogurt. However, potable water remains scarce. In most prisons, drinking water must be purchased from the canteen and is strictly rationed, with each prisoner limited to two small bottles per day (no more than 600 ml). This is a systemic problem across both men’s and women’s facilities.
Visits
Visitation procedures in the new prisons have become even more burdensome than in older facilities, creating additional obstacles for families and resulting in reduced frequency of visits, especially at Badr Prison 3
Visitors must arrive at the prisons, often located in remote desert areas, before dawn. Registration alone may take two to three hours, followed by invasive body searches, inspection of belongings, and prolonged waiting periods that can last another one to two hours. Visitors are then transported within the prison complex to the specific facility where the detainee is held, undergo another round of inspections, and only then are allowed to meet the prisoner. At the end of the visit, families sometimes wait hours to have their identification documents returned before leaving.
Beyond bureaucracy, visitation rights remain subject to the discretionary power of prison authorities. In many cases, especially for political prisoners, visits are arbitrarily denied for years without legal justification.
Prison administrations also impose severe restrictions on bringing food and other essential items during visits. This practice further exacerbates malnutrition and poor health conditions, while simultaneously boosting profits from prison canteens. Families interpret these restrictions as deliberate policies to generate revenue.
The same applies to medicine. Testimonies from Badr 3 describe a selective and arbitrary process: even life-saving medications such as insulin or blood-pressure treatments are sometimes withheld. Hygiene products are also frequently banned, and authorities systematically prevent the entry of books, papers, and pens. Even when presented, all materials must first be reviewed by an NSA officer—almost always resulting in rejection.
Healthcare
Although the new prisons were officially presented as having upgraded and more comprehensive medical facilities—including clinics, hospitals, diagnostic centers, and laboratories—testimonies show that healthcare provision in practice remains extremely limited, if not entirely absent.
Prison administrations do not record inmates’ medical conditions upon admission, nor do they allow regular medical check-ups. Access to prison clinics is restricted, and essential medications are often unavailable. There is no permanent medical team on duty to respond to emergencies or treat chronic illnesses. Requests for transfer to prison hospitals are routinely denied, even in cases of life-threatening or long-term conditions.
Some testimonies report that prisoners had to pay illegally for laboratory tests or medication within the prison medical units. There are also documented cases of deaths in different new prisons due to the absence of timely medical intervention. Families frequently face obstacles when trying to provide external medication to detainees, with prison administrations rejecting or heavily restricting such requests.
Surveillance System
The new prisons introduced an expanded electronic surveillance system, installing cameras in all cells, wards, solitary units, and even visitation rooms. These cameras operate 24/7. While such a system could theoretically enhance accountability by monitoring both guards and prisoners, in practice it has generated serious human rights concerns.
To ensure uninterrupted camera monitoring, prison administrations keep the lights in detainees’ cells on at high intensity throughout the night. Prisoners and their families have complained that this constant exposure violates their right to privacy, severely disrupts sleep, and contributes to psychological stress and physical deterioration. Women and men alike are subjected to this practice.
Moreover, despite constant surveillance, prisons have recorded multiple deaths resulting from medical emergencies where staff ignored inmates’ calls for help—even when detainees used the intercom system to report urgent cases.
The combination of continuous lighting and intrusive monitoring has been a major source of protest inside the new prisons. Hunger strikes and other forms of collective resistance have often included demands to reduce the harsh surveillance conditions. At the same time, traditional surveillance methods—such as the use of informants among prisoners—remain in place, as reported in 10th of Ramadan (men’s prison) and Badr 1.
Disciplinary and Punitive Measures
In response to the increasingly harsh living conditions, prisoners in several facilities—such as Badr 1, Badr 3, and Wadi al-Natrun—have staged hunger strikes and other protests. The authorities responded with punitive measures, including solitary confinement, cutting off water and electricity, deliberate starvation by withholding food, banning medicines, closing the prison canteen, and forcibly transferring detainees to distant prisons.
Moreover, the use of high-intensity floodlights at night has been added to these punishments. Testimonies from Badr 3, in particular, also include allegations of torture, such as electric shocks and beatings, used in retaliation against prisoners who engaged in protests. These practices fall outside the scope of the law and its executive regulations on permissible disciplinary measures.
Trials Inside Prisons
In December 2021, the Minister of Justice issued Decree No. 8901/2021, authorizing the use of digital technology for pre-trial detention renewal hearings. Under this system, courts can conduct sessions via video conference while detainees remain inside their prison. Judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers connect remotely through a closed-circuit television system.
Since then, the new prisons have relied heavily on this system for court proceedings and pre-trial detention renewals. However, detainees and their lawyers have reported multiple violations of fair-trial guarantees. Detainees are unable to speak freely in the presence of prison staff, making it impossible to report abuse or submit requests against the will of prison authorities. Private consultations with lawyers are rarely permitted, and when they occur, they are extremely brief.
Technical failures, such as power cuts and network disruptions, frequently interrupt hearings. Moreover, prison authorities retain discretionary power to request postponement of sessions on the grounds of “connection issues,” which cannot be independently verified. Testimonies suggest that such delays are sometimes used to cover up evidence of recent torture or mistreatment.
Hearings conducted via video link often involve large numbers of prisoners grouped together, leaving each defendant less than a minute to speak. In one documented case, Judge Wagdy Abdel Moneim, head of the 3rd Terrorism Circuit of the Criminal Court, repeatedly interrupted and silenced detainees from Badr 3 who attempted to describe abuse during detention. Other violations include failures by judges to verify the identity of detainees before proceedings, which in some cases resulted in prisoners being denied participation in their own hearings.
Conclusion
Through testimonies from detainees’ families, lawyers, and former prisoners, the New Prisons Observatory conducted by EFHR, has attempted to provide a partial but detailed picture of conditions in Egypt’s newly established prison complexes. The findings are based on documentation from five new prisons: 10th of Ramadan (men and women), Badr 1, Badr 3, and Wadi al-Natrun, out of seven that are currently operational.
The aim of this report is to shed light on the most significant changes introduced into Egypt’s prison system, while also highlighting the many ways in which old patterns persist. While the new facilities feature relatively improved infrastructure, the policies and practices of prison administration have not changed. Authority remains concentrated in the discretionary powers of the Prisons Authority and the National Security Agency, operating outside the boundaries of law and regulation.
The new prisons or “the rehabilitation and correction centers” have already recorded cases of deaths, hunger strikes, and suicide attempts due to the harsh conditions and ill-treatment. These findings reinforce the urgent need for reform of prison management policies and practices. Superficial architectural changes and public-relations campaigns are no substitute for genuine respect for prisoners’ rights and human dignity.