Participants of a conference organized by the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession on Sunday demanded regulatory legislation pertaining to inspections of prisons and state security camps by general prosecution members.
The stated legislation seeks permission for prosecution members to inspect the facilities without a prior warrant from the Prosecutor General.
During the conference, coined “The General Prosecution and the Inspection of Prisons and Detention Centers”, human rights advocates demanded non-governmental organizations be granted permission to visit prisons to ensure inmates enjoy living conditions in line with international standards.
Participants decried the extended emergency law which they allege has cultivated a generation of policemen who are accustomed to operating under exceptional laws exclusively.
The vice president of Cairo’s Court of Cassation, Ashraf al-Baroudy, stressed the need for all concerned law institutions to protect human rights while emphasizing the general prosecution’s authority over prisons. He said inspection tours would guarantee no person can be held without a charge and no hard labor would be imposed on an inmate unless stated in his sentence.
Al-Baroudy urged judicial institutions to permit the inspections to prevent violations.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
