Egypt: 20-year-old student disappeared after abduction by Homeland Security forces

On September 5,   Alkarama sent an urgent appeal to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) concerning the case of Abdellah Mohamed Ahmed, a 20-year-old student who has been disappeared since he was violently abducted on July 31, 2017 while on his way home from the mosque.

Ahmed was abducted by two men wearing civilian clothing who had been waiting for him in a white car in front of his house. The men later identified themselves to neighbours as police officers.

Abdellah’s parents immediately went to Naser police station to ask about their son’s whereabouts. The police denied detaining Abdellah and told them that the vehicle described belonged to the Homeland Security forces.

While at the station, they asked to file a complaint, but this request was denied by police officers. They subsequently sent a written complaint to both the prosecutor's office and the Beni Suef Attorney General himself, but no action was taken by the authorities. The family still has not received any information about Abdellah’s fate.

Abdellah Ahmed’s case is one of countless others illustrating the systematic practice of enforced disappearance in the country, part of the serious human rights violations committed within a more widespread campaign of repression.

Alkarama sent an urgent appeal to the WGEID on September 5, asking them to call upon the Egyptian authorities to immediately release Abdellah Ahmed and to put an end to the systematic practice of enforced disappearance. The Egyptian authorities should immediately release all victims of enforced disappearance and provide them with a fair compensation for their incommunicado detention.

For more information or an interview, please contact media@alkarama.org (Dir: +41 22 734 1008).