Document - للتداول العام مصر: عودة قسرية/خشية من التعذيب أو غيره من ضروب إساءة المعاملة: MDE 12/025/2008
PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 12/025/2008
18 December 2008
UA 348/08 Forcible return/Fear of torture or other ill-treatment
EGYPT At least 104 Eritrean asylum-seekers
A group of some 104 Eritrean asylum-seekers held in a detention facility in Nakhl, northern Sinai, could be forcibly returned to Eritrea in the next few days. The group, which is believed to comprise 78 men, 23 women, including one pregnant woman, and three children, was visited by officials from the Eritrean Embassy in Egypt to arrange for their deportation. None of the asylum-seekers has been allowed access to representatives from the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Cairo, for assessment of their claims for asylum.
The members of the group were required to fill in forms and have their photographs taken in preparation for deportation. If returned to Eritrea, Amnesty International fears that they will be held incommunicado for long periods of time, like others forcibly returned from Egypt earlier this year (see UA 225/08, AFR 64/004/2008, 13 August 2008). Prisoners in Eritrea are commonly held in damp, over-crowded and unhygienic conditions, with almost no access to medical care. Any member of this group, if forcibly returned, could also face torture or other ill-treatment, particularly as many of them are believed to have left Eritrea to avoid forced conscription. The standard punishment for those evading or escaping military service in Eritrea is detention without trial and torture or other ill-treatment by beatings and being tied in painful positions.
Dozens of other Eritrean asylum-seekers are also believed to be facing deportation from Egypt, including Eritreans held in Al-Arish prison, north Sinai, and in Al-Qanater prison, north of Cairo. An unknown number of Eritreans are currently detained in different locations in Egypt. None of them are allowed access to UNHCR representatives.
According to the agreement between Egypt and UNCHR, the Egyptian authorities have the obligation to allow asylum-seekers tomeet with UNHCR representatives and to respect their assessments of refugee status. UNHCR has issued guidelines to all governments opposing the return of rejected Eritrean asylum-seekers to Eritrea on the grounds of the record of incommunicado detention, torture and other ill-treatment in Eritrea.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
In June 2008, up to 1,200 Eritrean asylum-seekers were forcibly returned by Egypt to Eritrea on specially chartered EgyptAir flights (see UA 165/08, MDE 12/011/2008, 12 June 2008, and follow-ups). This was in disregard of the principle of non-refoulement, whereby states should refrain from deporting anyone to another state where the person is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment or other serious human rights violations.. While some of returned asylum-seekers were released after weeks in detention, including pregnant women and women with children, the majority were transferred to the remote Wia prison and other military facilities, where they are still being held.
Since mid-2007, hundreds of Eritreans, Sudanese and nationals of other Sub-Saharan countries have been trying to cross the Egyptian border into Israel. At least 28 were shot dead by security forces at the border in 2008. Hundreds were referred to military court for attempting to "illegally" cross the Egyptian eastern border and were sentenced to one year prison terms and fines. Deportation arrangements are typically initiated after such individuals serve their sentences, which include contacting the official representatives of their country of origin in Egypt to issue them with travel documents.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English, Arabic or your own language:
- calling on the Egyptian authorities not to forcibly return any of the 104 Eritreans detained in Nakhl, or any other Eritreans asylum-seekers, to Eritrea;
- asking them to ensure that all Eritreans are given immediate access to Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Egypt to assess their protection needs and to any medical care they might need;
- urging them to respect Egypt’s international obligations under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the UN Convention Against Torture not to forcibly return Eritreans to Eritrea, where they would be at risk of torture and other serious human rights abuses.
APPEALS TO:
Minster of Interior
Minister Habib Ibrahim El Adly
Ministry of the Interior
25 Al-Sheikh Rihan Street
Bab al-Louk, Cairo, Egypt
Fax: +20 22 796 0682
Email: center@iscmi.gov.egor moi@idsc.gov.eg
Salutation: Dear Minister
COPIES TO:
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Minister Ahmed Ali Aboul Gheit
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Corniche al-Nil, Maspiro
Cairo, Egypt
Fax: +20 22 574 8822
+20 22 390 8159
+20 22 574 9533
E-mail: minexter@idsc1.gov.eg
Salutation: Dear Minister
National Council for Human Rights
Ambassador Mokhless Kotb
Secretary General
National Council for Human Rights
1113 Corniche El Nil
Midane Al Tahrir
Specialized National Councils Building – 11th floor
NDP Building, Cairo, Egypt
Fax: +2022 574 7497
Email: nchr@nchr.org.eg
and to diplomatic representatives of Egypt accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 29 January 2009.