Sayed Nasr, the defense lawyer for supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsy, says 463 pro-Morsy prisoners went on hunger strike on Monday to protest ill-treatment inside the Tora prison.
The French news agency, however, reported they are 450 prisoners.
Nasr told the Turkish Anadolu news agency they all say they are denied visits or must see their visitors from behind glass barriers. “The largest number of prisoners on strike are in Tora prison,” Nasr said. “They are jammed inside the cells.”
A security source denied there were any strikes, saying the prisoners verbally complained of the the glass barriers.
Nasr also said that among the prisoners in Tora prison are Khairat al-Shater, the deputy supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, Essam al-Erian, the deputy head of the Freedom and Justice Party, Mohamed al-Beltagy, member of the Executive Office of the Freedom and Justice Party, Osama Yassin, the former youth minister, and Essam al-Haddad, Morsy’s assistant for foreign affairs.
Added to them, he said, are Ayman Ali, Morsy’s adviser for Egyptians abroad, Abdel Meguid Mashaly, Morsy’s secretary for media affairs, Ahmed Abdel Ati, his office manager, and Ayman Hadhoud, Morsy’s security advisor.
Another security source had said earlier that the tight security measures aim to prevent the leaders of the Brotherhood from giving instructions to their visitors for action in the streets, especially that the referendum is mid-January and the anniversary of the revolution is on 25 January.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
