Egyptian authorities intensified their repression of peaceful government critics and ordinary people during 2020, virtually obliterating any space for peaceful assembly, association or expression, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2021.

The Egyptian Interior Ministry announced that it has referred 1,112 cases to Egypt’s Public Prosecution against citizens who were either unable or refused to pay the new LE50 instant fine after violating the government-mandated precautionary measures against COVID-19.

An Egyptian security source denied allegations circulated on Facebook pages affiliated to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood (MB) about a COVID-19 outbreak in prisons, leading to multiple fatalities.

Egypt’s Interior Ministry denied on Saturday “rumours” about the “collective punishment” of opposition detainees held in the notorious Scorpion Prison, the state-owned news agency MENA has reported.

Egypt’s Ministry of Interior has finalized all security preparations to secure the run-off parliament elections through a comprehensive security plan.

The family of detained human rights lawyer Hoda Abdelmoneim have called on authorities to release her on medical grounds due to a reported deterioration in her health condition.

A mother of three and grandmother of several was blindfolded and beaten repeatedly in detention in Egypt, rights organisation We Record has revealed, before being sexually assaulted and electrocuted on her genitals.

A leading Egyptian rights group, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), said on Monday that its recently detained director Gasser Abdelrazek was “in danger” due to poor conditions in jail.

The human rights organisation We Record has documented several unprecedented violations inside Al-Qanater women’s prison.

Egyptian officials physically assaulted a number of female political prisoners at the Qanatir women’s jail on Saturday in an “unprecedented violation,” a rights group reported.