restricted must be treated in a manner that preserves his dignity. Torture, intimidation, coercion, physical or psychological harm shall not be inflicted upon them. Their detention or imprisonment shall only take place in designated facilities that are suitable, both in terms of humane and health standards.”

Developments in December 2023

December 2023 was a date with the  Egyptian presidential elections, which were marred by many violations before and during the voting phase, starting with targeting the former potential candidate, “Ahmed Al-Tantawi,” his campaign, and those wishing to issue endorsement documents for him with detention, arrest, and prevention, which resulted in his withdrawal and “Jamila Ismail” from the candidacy race and limiting the competition to “Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi” and three other candidates who do not have a presence within Egyptian society, until the voting stage in which the method of the political arm of the regime represented in the “Mostakbal watan” in forcing and mobilizing citizens in front of the polling stations and co-opting them either with bribes or repression, as well as judicial and media conspiracy to implement the anti-democratic electoral scene. Also during the month, and in parallel with the elections, the  Accreditation Subcommittee of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions postponed consideration of the request of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights to be re-accredited as a first-class institution for 12 months based on a report prepared by the “committee for justice” as an evaluation of the Council’s performance, which revealed many shortcomings in the performance and independence of the Council, which was one of the institutions authorized to monitor the farcical presidential elections, such as the Council’s cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, the Council failed to respond to hundreds of complaints, including enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, and the lack of guarantees to ensure the independence and effectiveness of the National Council about visits to places of deprivation of liberty, where such visits are often denied or arranged in advance. Accordingly, the Subcommittee postponed the approval of the National Council for Human Rights’ request……December 1 – 31, 2023