Honourable Special Rapporteur,
In recent months, the Egyptian authorities have renewed their campaign of arbitrarily detaining and unlawfully deporting refugees and asylum seekers solely on the basis of their immigration status, in violation of the principle of non-refoulement and Egypt’s own asylum law. Since late December 2025, police officers in plain clothes have arbitrarily arrested and detained nationals of Syria, Sudan, South Sudan and other Sub-Saharan African countries from the streets or their workplaces in cities across the country following identity checks.