Egyptian female inmates face privacy violations inside prison cells: rights group

Several female detainees recently moved to a new prison in the 10th of Ramadan City in northern Sharqiya province claimed that authorities had been violating their privacy by installing surveillance cameras inside their cells.

In a letter leaked to Egyptian human rights groups written by one of the primarily female political detainees, the author claimed that "[she] and her fellows are being under surveillance around the clock, which violates their privacy and puts them under an immense amount of pressure," said the El-Shehab Centre for Human Rights.

When the women voiced their objection to this procedure, they were informed by the prison administration that they were following the orders imposed by the interior minister, which led the prisoners "to remain fully dressed, wearing their veil day and night for fear of the recorded footage being used against them."

"The female detainees sleep in shifts so they can cover each other's bodies in case any part is exposed," the anonymous prisoner added in her desperate letter.

"The feed of the surveillance cameras is monitored by 12 different security entities and offices…including the presidency, the prison officers and the state security," the rights group explained.

The prisoners directed their complaint to the National Council for Women for "allegedly being exposed to a human rights violation, a breach of privacy and harassment."

The interior ministry has not commented officially at the time of publishing.

Since President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi came to power in a military coup against the first democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi, Egypt has become one of the worst states for human rights abuses.

Several groups have in recent years reported human rights violations committed against women prisoners in Egypt, especially activists, journalists and political dissidents.

Such alleged infringements include the policing of women's "morality' and persecuting high-profile young women on social media, as well as rape victims who discuss their experiences publicly.