Senior Muslim Brotherhood official, Essam el-Erian has died on in Cairo’s Tora prison on Thursday.
Egypt’s prison authorities have not yet officially confirmed the death.
According to his lawyer, the 66 years old former member of parliament had not been allowed visits for the past six months due to the coronavirus restrictions.
He was the vice-president of the Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of Egypt’s largest opposition movement, the Muslim Brotherhood.
The physician was arrested following the 2013 military coup led by then-defense minister Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who is now president.
Mr. Erian was among those sentenced to life imprisonment following the coup. The trials of Erian and other Brotherhood leaders have been condemned by rights groups as politically motivated.
Since becoming president in 2014, Sisi has led a relentless crackdown against his opponents from across the political spectrum.
