Ehab Masoud Juha, a pretrial detainee in Egypt, died on 4 November at Borg El-Arab Prison in Alexandria after five years of prolonged detention and alleged medical neglect.
Juha, 51, who became wheelchair-bound during his detention, suffered from untreated burns, lung issues, and a sharp decline in health, prompting desperate pleas from his family for adequate treatment. “He’s dying in front of my eyes,” Juha’s wife said during a recent visit.
Despite repeated appeals, Egyptian authorities allegedly refused to transfer him to a prison hospital or address his deteriorating condition, renewing his detention unlawfully beyond Egypt’s two-year pretrial limit, according to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR).
Rights groups, including EIPR, have condemned his death as “murder by omission” and are urging an urgent investigation into the Prison Authority’s actions.
Juha was arrested in 2019, accused of associating with an unlawful organisation and spreading false information under the “Independence Party Case.” The EIPR called on Egypt to review detainees’ cases held beyond the legal limit and ensure healthcare in prisons, highlighting Juha’s death as part of a troubling pattern of neglect within the prison system.
Juha is survived by his wife and four children, who had minimal contact with him during his detention.