Shady Habash was an Egyptian photographer and filmmaker who died in May 2020 in the Tora Prison in Egypt. Shady was held for over two years in unlawful pre-trial detention for simply being associated with a music video of Ramy Essam. His violent arrest was followed by three days of torture and 800 days of confinement in a situation of particular vulnerability in one of Egyptâs most notorious prisons for their poor healthcare and inadequate sanitation. In his last letter from October 2019, Shady expressed his struggle and called for support: âI need your support, to not die.â The circumstances of his death are unclear although Egyptâs public prosecutor reported that he had died after mistakenly ingesting hand sanitizer distributed in prison to prevent COVID-19. When an individual dies in state custody, as in the case at hand, there is a presumption of state responsibility. AGL believes Shadyâs death has been caused by the failure of prison authorities to ensure Shady with timely access to a doctor and suitable health. On 12 May 2020 Avant-Garde Lawyers representing artist Ramy Essam submitted Shadyâs case to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions, AgnĂšs Callamard. The submission called Ms. Callamard to intercede with the Egyptian authorities in order to have the circumstances and causes of Shady Habashâs tragic death in custody fully investigated and to ensure that those responsible for it are promptly brought to justice.
Intervention Team:
- International Representation: AGL
- Liaison: Ramy Essam
- Communication: Sanni Kahilainen
- Translators: Kelsey Waxman and Sana Sekkarie