After Assad's Slaughterhouses in Syria, Spotlight Shifts to the Plight of Detainees in Sisi's Prisons

“With Assad's prisons crumbling, Egypt now stands as the region's largest detention center, holding the highest number of detainees, surpassing even the Palestinians in Israeli prisons,” said human rights advocates, following the shocking revelations from the horrors uncovered in Sednaya after the Syrian regime's fall.

The trauma there revealed following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime has reignited discussions about prisons in Egypt under the head of the Egyptian regime Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Egypt has long been compared to other oppressive regimes worldwide, such as Syria under the ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad or North Korea under the communist rule of Kim Jong Un.

After Assad’s regime fell on December 8, 2024, shocking and brutal scenes emerged from Syrian prisons like Sednaya, infamous for its secret cells and underground chambers.

This, however, was not the end of the conversation. Many began drawing attention to Egypt's prisons, arguing that they are no better than those in Syria.

Badr Prisons

The Badr prison complex is one of the detention facilities notorious for severe violations against political dissidents, as revealed by leaked letters over the past years.

These letters have exposed a grim reality of abuse and suffering inflicted under Sisi’s regime, which came to power through a military coup.

On January 20, 2023, the Egyptian Network for Human Rights (ENHR), headquartered in London, released a series of handwritten letters allegedly smuggled out by detainees in Badr prisons.

The detainees described the prison as “the harshest of all Egyptian prisons,” already notorious for their severe treatment of inmates.

In December 2022, Sisi estimated Egypt’s prison population at around 55,000. However, rights organizations such as Amnesty International and the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information estimated the number of political detainees alone to be about 65,000.

The Badr prison complex was officially inaugurated on December 30, 2021, under the name “New Central Prison Complex.”

Located in Badr, an area in the eastern desert near Egypt’s New Administrative Capital, about 65 kilometers east of Cairo, the complex spans 85 acres and includes three correctional and rehabilitation centers.

The main reason the regime decided to build the new prison was to take advantage of the prime location of the Tora prison, which overlooks the Nile in Cairo, for investment projects. As a result, political detainees were moved to new facilities, including Badr.

This followed announcements to vacate several infamous prisons, such as the notorious Tora and Scorpion (al-Aqrab) prisons, as the Badr facilities came online. These “new complexes” were initially presented as more “humane” and “rights-compliant alternatives” for detainees.

The inauguration was heavily marketed as part of Egypt’s “New Republic” campaign, with promises of advanced care systems, particularly in nutrition and healthcare.

The Egyptian Interior Ministry even released a promotional film titled “A New Beginning” to celebrate the prison’s opening, describing it as “a comprehensive facility built to international standards.”

Among the Dead

Contrary to the regime's claims, the reality of Badr Prison paints a far bleaker picture. Most of its detainees are senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and Egyptian opposition figures, including many elderly individuals who were previously held in Scorpion Prison.

According to the Egyptian Network for Human Rights, many of these detainees are now “as good as dead.”

Under the title “We Are Dying,” handwritten letters smuggled from Badr 3 Prison reached the organization, highlighting the continuation of severe human rights violations.

One particularly harrowing letter, dated January 18, 2023, described the appalling humanitarian conditions, poor treatment, inadequate healthcare, and lack of proper nutrition.

The letter detailed how chronic diseases were spreading among detainees, especially with the arrival of winter and the authorities’ refusal to allow in warm clothing. In some cases, this inhumane treatment has already resulted in deaths.

The letter also revealed growing unrest among detainees, who protested against the abuses perpetrated by National Security and the prison administration.

It described the horrifying punishment inflicted on those who objected: they were stripped of clothing and blankets in the freezing cold, confined to disciplinary cells, provided only one loaf of bread per day, and denied access to medication.

The harsh conditions at Badr Prison also include relentless psychological torture. On October 12, 2022, the mother of former MP and political activist Ziad el-Alimi shared her son’s complaints about practices unheard of in older prisons.

One such practice was the installation of cameras inside the cells, recording detainees around the clock. She noted that detainees were subjected to constant, bright lighting 24 hours a day, preventing them from sleeping or resting and often leading to nervous breakdowns.

On November 13, 2022, el-Nadeem Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and Torture documented two deaths and 17 cases of deliberate medical negligence inside Badr Prison.

Former presidential candidate and leader of the Strong Egypt Party, Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, described his detention conditions in Badr Prison on October 10, 2022, as “deadly.”

Aboul Fotouh, aged 71, has been deprived of necessary healthcare and suffered multiple heart attacks during his detention, leaving him on the brink of death, according to his son Ahmed.

On July 15, 2024, several Egyptian human rights organizations, including Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), confirmed the death of Bassem al-Mutawa’s mother just two days after a visit to her son in Badr 1 Prison.

On July 9, during the visit, al-Mutawa, a medical student who had been on a hunger strike, attempted suicide in the visitation hall after his request to give his study books to his mother was denied without explanation.

The incident unfolded in front of his mother, who witnessed her son’s despair. al-Mutawa was rushed to the prison’s medical center for emergency treatment following the incident.

The organization reported that his mother suffered a severe respiratory attack after the visit. Though she received treatment and returned home, she passed away two days later, overcome with grief.

Torture Techniques

On April 2, 2021, the investigative journalism platform Daraj published an exposé detailing the methods of torture employed in Egypt’s Badr prisons, particularly in Badr 3, which is affiliated with the notorious Scorpion Prison.

The report included testimony from Mona, the sister of detainee Alaa Abd el-Fattah. She revealed that her brother “listens throughout the night to the sounds of torture using electricity and the cries for help from detainees.”

Electric torture is one of the most horrifying methods used in Egyptian prisons, terrorizing not only the victims but also those who hear their desperate screams.

“The cries for help are enough to instill fear and anguish in the hearts of other inmates, pushing them into a state of anxiety and psychological torment, as well as sleeplessness and panic over the possibility of eventually being subjected to electric shocks themselves,” she said.

The Daraj investigation also uncovered other chilling methods of torture, starting with degrading strip searches that force detainees to completely undress. They are also denied access to showers or hot water during the winter, barred from exercise or sunlight, and subjected to isolation with no family visits, left in dark cells at night.

In some instances, torture escalates to the insertion of objects into detainees’ rectums, as was the case with Essam Atta. He was killed under torture in Tora Prison after a guard inserted a water hose into his rectum.

Abuse of Women

Women are not spared from abuse in Egypt’s prisons under Sisi’s regime. On April 21, 2021, the Egyptian Network for Human Rights documented the case of detainee Marwa Arafa, a blogger and translator imprisoned at Qanater Women’s Prison for her openly critical stance against Sisi.

The organization reported that prison authorities confiscated Arafa’s personal hygiene items, along with those of other inmates in her ward. She was transferred from Ward 7 to Ward 4 with only prison clothing and blankets, forced to sleep on the cold floor, which caused severe joint pain due to the freezing weather.

Arafa’s suffering extended beyond the prison walls, as her infant daughter endured severe health and psychological issues following her mother’s arrest. These included neurological trauma that impaired her movement and cognitive development, requiring weekly therapy sessions. Despite her family’s repeated appeals to national security for Arafa’s release to care for her child, their pleas were ignored.

Aisha Khairat al-Shater, another detainee, holds particular significance as the daughter of one of Sisi's fiercest adversaries and the deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.

When Aisha was arrested in early November 2018, security forces ransacked her home, blindfolded and handcuffed her, and transported her to an undisclosed location before presenting her at the State Security Prosecution.

On April 7, 2021, her lawyer, Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsoud, revealed that Aisha required a bone marrow transplant due to severe anemia, which had rapidly deteriorated her health. He stated that she had suffered heavy bleeding and was transferred to Qasr el-Ainy Hospital for platelet treatment.

“As a mother, I feel like I’m losing my mind when I see my children from afar but cannot hold them or check on them. I am ill, my condition in prison is worsening, my platelet levels are dropping, and I need a bone marrow transplant,” she said in a leaked letter.

In 2021, the lawyer of journalist Solafa Magdy (later released) disclosed that she had suffered a uterine hemorrhage during a search in detention.

That same year, activist Israa Abdel Fattah’s lawyer, Khaled Ali, reported that she had been suspended by her arms for eight continuous hours, leaving her with severe bruising and blood clots in her arms.

A Black Book

Egypt has long been notorious for its harrowing prisons, a legacy dating back to the era of former president Gamal Abdel Nasser in the 1950s and 1960s.

During that time, the infamous al-Harbi (military) Prison gained a fearsome reputation. Even the late Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi referenced it in his famous poem written during his 1955 imprisonment: “In the yard of al-Harbi, its name alone is enough, they threw me down, a source of terror.”

Over the years, the names of the prisons have changed, but the methods of torture have only evolved. From al-Harbi Prison to Tora's al-Aqrab Prison, and now, under Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Badr Prison has emerged as one of the most notorious places of abuse.

On November 5, 2023, the human rights organization We Record reported a systematic campaign of psychological and physical torture against inmates at Badr Prison. This crackdown followed detainees’ requests for increased food rations and winter blankets.

The methods included electric shocks combined with water, tear gas, loud sound recordings, and sleep deprivation.

el-Shehab Center for Human Rights noted in a December 2, 2022, report that anyone who survives Badr Prison requires special psychological and physical rehabilitation to recover from the ordeal.

Speaking to Al-Estiklal, Egyptian human rights advocate Samy Fouad described the country’s prisons as a “black book” documenting Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s regime.

“The accounts of detainees who endured torture, death, or the harrowing experiences in these prisons vividly illustrate the nature of this era, much like what happened during Abdel Nasser's rule in the 1950s and 1960s.”

Fouad pointed out that today’s difference lies in the existence of modern media, social platforms, and human rights organizations that meticulously document these events. 

“There’s a file, a story for almost every detainee, and records for those who died under torture or were unjustly executed for political reasons,” he said.

Highlighting the importance of documentation, Fouad emphasized, “At some point, the price will be paid legally—sooner or later.”

“One day, the heads of this regime and the perpetrators of torture will face justice, even posthumously, as seen in the Latin American revolutions and the French Revolution.”

Fouad drew parallels to recent events, such as when opposition fighters burned the mausoleum of former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in al-Qardaha, Latakia, following the fall of his son Bashar’s regime.

“Just as Turkiye and other nations have held their oppressors accountable, justice is now emerging in liberated Syria—and Egypt’s moment will follow,” Fouad concluded.