Egypt: Demonstrator Shot and Abducted by Police Forces and the Army in 2013 still missing today

Khaled Mohamed Hafez Mohamed Azzedine

Khaled Mohamed Hafez Mohamed Azzedine, a peaceful activist, was abducted four years ago in the center of Giza by members of the Egyptian Police Forces and the Army while participating to a peaceful demonstration. Azzedine was taken to an unknown location and remains disappeared since. His wife, Dr Hanane Baderraddine Abdalhafez Othman, has recently been arrested in retaliation of her persistent investigations with the Egyptian authorities about the fate and whereabouts of her husband and for helping other women with missing relatives advocate for their right to truth.

On 27 July 2013, Azzedine was taking part in a peaceful demonstration against the destitution of former President Morsi in the center of Giza when he was wounded with a bullet while on the podium. He was immediately taken away by members of the police and the Army, wearing both uniforms and civilian clothes, in an ambulance. His arrest was carried out in the middle of mass arrests of protesters.

Azzedine’s family filed several complaints with the authorities ever since his arrest, particularly with the Prosecutor Beni Suef and Nasr City, they however never received any answer from the authorities. While many witnesses reported seeing him at the Liman Tora hospital after his arrest and at the Tora prison, the authorities have continuously denied detaining him leaving him in a state of disappearance.

“The disappearance of Azzedine shows the pattern of enforced disappearance with started right after the military takeover against supporters of the opposition” said Radidja Nemar, Alkarama's Regional Legal Officer for North Africa. “Since then, the practice of enforced disappearance continues unabated and now even relatives and advocates who try to locate their relatives are at risk of being subjected to the same fate” she added.

The case of Khaled Mohamed Hafez Mohamed Azzedine was submitted to the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) on 14 June 2017 in order to request the authorities to reveal the fate and whereabouts of the victim. 

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