In particular, Alkarama has learned of serious human rights violations committed against more than 200 detainees at the New Valley Prison. In protest of the ill-treatment they are suffering, detainees have begun an open-ended hunger strike.

According to the information received, the prison authorities did not allow detainees to leave their cells for over than two weeks. It also failed to provide water to wash and shower for four days. In addition, many of the detainees have been tortured and kept in solitary confinement, which may in itself constitute inhumane treatment.

Furthermore, given the scale of the hungerstrike, prison officials have begun forcing detainees to eat by torturing them and placing them in solitary confinement.

For example, Sheirf Omar and Abdel Ati Abdel Hamid were subject to torture and sexual abuse by the New Valley's prison's officials. Both of them were subsequently examined by the forensic doctors in Assiut governorate, who confirmed they had been tortured.

Ahmed Mefreh, Alkarama's legal researcher, said: "I've received more than 70 cases of detention under the Emergency Law, since the revolution, all of them detained in the New Valley Prison. Despite the end of the state of emergency on 25 January 2011, the Interior Ministry continues to use the same methods as the former regime."

Egypt had been under the state of emergency since 1981. Ending the state of emergency was always a key demand of the opposition and was one of the main demands of protesters in the January 2011 revolution. The Emergency Law allows officials in the Interior Ministry to arrest anyone for indefinite periods without a charge or trial.

Alkarama condemns the ongoing use of the old regime's methods which violate human rights and basic principles of the treatment of prisoners. In particular, General Assembly's resolution No. 45/111, ratified on 14 December 1990 states that "All prisoners shall be treated with the respect due to their inherent dignity and value as human beings."

In addition to ill-treatment of detainees, the continued used of the policy of arbitrary detention following unfair trials should be stopped immediately, particularly given the fall of the former authoritarian regime.