Watan-The “Sinai Foundation for Human Rights” has revealed leaked images of a prison complex built by the Egyptian army’s engineering authority, known as the “Al-Jafr Prison,” for the Ministry of Interior. The prison was constructed semi-secretly in an isolated desert area in the middle of Sinai, following the displacement of local residents and the confiscation of their farms.<\/p>\n
The Sinai Foundation is a non-governmental human rights organization, independent and dedicated to monitoring and documenting human rights conditions in the Sinai Peninsula, highlighting violations committed by various actors on the ground.<\/p>\n
According to the official website of the human rights organization, the Egyptian authorities have been working on establishing a massive prison complex in an isolated desert area near the village of Al-Jafr, affiliated with the city of Al-Hasana, in a semi-secretive manner.<\/p>\n
The new complex is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior, while its construction is overseen by the engineering authority of the armed forces, and work on it began near the end of 2021.<\/p>\n
Official government data indicates that the population of the city of Al-Hasana, where the new prison is located, was 22,680 in 2021. However, according to the engineering drawings viewed by the foundation and the information obtained, the prisons in the Al-Jafr complex have a capacity for about 20,000 inmates, nearly equal to the population of the area.<\/p>\n