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Eight prominentÌýEgyptian human rights organisationsÌýcalled on the Egyptian authorities to enact real reform at prisons and detention centres, rather than merely adopting a that they described as a "farce...intended to provide an illusion of reform."

"The undersigned human rights organizations consider these amendments to prison nomenclature as nothing but frivolous formalities…evocative of theÌýNational Human Rights declared by the president….in September 2021," the eight groups said in a released on Tuesday.Ìý

Earlier this month, a newÌýlawÌýwas passed by the Egyptian parliament, relabeling prisons into "correctional facilities" and prisoners into "inmates," while wardens are now described asÌý"directors."

"This legislation is useless. It's completely a farce. It doesn't address the least of the concerns thatÌý rights groups flagged for years regarding the flaws of the legal framework governing detentions and prisons,"Ìýsaid Amr Magi, a researcher in the Middle East and North Africa Division at Human Rights Watch.Ìý

"Some of these issues include the fact that medical doctors at prisons have no right to make life or death decisions about prisoners under their care unless they take orders from police officers first," the HRW researcher, an Egyptian based in Germany, told °®Âþµº.

"Inhumane conditionsÌýat Egyptian prisons and detention centres have been documentedÌýfor decades. But the situation has been deteriorating under Sisi, becoming more inhumane and abusive," he added.Ìý

"If we follow the , the United Nations standards for the treatment of prisoners, we will find them almost all violated."

The rights organisationsÌýagreeÌýwith Magdi's assessment, further providingÌýevidence ofÌýmaltreatment in Egyptian prisons.

Among the examples highlightedÌýis how the Tora prison administration,Ìý habitually the rights of prominent activist and bloggerÌýAlaa Abdel FattahÌýsince the beginning of his detention years ago. ÌýAbdel Fattah and his lawyerwere assaulted upon their arrival in prison in 2019 and have since been subjected to inhumane treatment and dire conditions.

Last September, Abdel-Fattah, who isÌýÌýfive years in prison over accusations of "spreading false news",Ìýamong other charges,ÌýÌýthe judge that he may commit suicide unless hisÌýconditions in the infamous prison were to be improved. Abdel-Fattah urged the judge to transfer him to another jail.

Meanwhile, human rights defenderÌýÌýis facing trial before an emergency state security court on charges due to her activism regarding human rights. She suffers from serious medical conditions but is denied the right to be transferred to a hospital outside the prison.

Another case is activist Ahmed Maher (nicknamed "Rigo") who had been reportedly assaulted this month while under the supervision of the Tora Prison administration, in retaliation for hisÌýand other prisoners' hunger strikes in protest toÌýtheir prolonged years ofÌýÌýwithout trial.

Former presidential candidate and head of an opposition party was also reportedly subjected to harsh conditions by being placed in solitary confinement, as well asÌýmedical negligence sinceÌýthe prison authorities ignored his chronic conditions, some of which require surgical intervention.

"While investigating these cases, we found that they lack access to proper medical care. Neither were they examined by specialists to handle their cases, which led to many deaths or the acceleration of their demise…and that includes, I think, late president [Mohamed] Morsi,"ÌýMagdi said, on his part.

Earlier in January, a documentary produced byÌýAl-Araby TV, a sister company ofÌý°®Âþµº, unveiled that hundreds, if not thousands, of political prisoners and detainees held at Egypt's notorious Al-AqrabÌý,Ìýwere subjected to years of maltreatment and inhumane conditions.

The film, entitled,Ìý"Scorpion Prison in Egypt:Ìýthe Cemetery of the Living", revealed several cases of abuse, through interviews with the families of detainees.

"There are different types of confinement: official prisons, cells at police stations, and detention centres. But the unofficial detention centres at national security buildings are where the abuses and severe and brutal physical torture take place [usually following enforced disappearance],"Ìýthe HRW researcher elaborated.

"The key problem is that the investigatorsÌýof these cases are often theÌýpolice officers who undertook these offences. There must be an independent entity that investigates theseÌýviolations, such as the justice ministry or the national human rights council,"Ìýhe recommended.