The undersigned human rights organisations strongly condemn the abduction and enforced disappearance of Egyptian political opposition figure, engineer Mahmoud Mohamed FATHI, President of the Al-Fadila Party and founder of the Al-Umma movement, and his wife, Ms Hoda Mohamed Anwar, following their lawful entry into Libyan territory. They express their deep concern for their lives and physical integrity, amid conflicting and unverified reports regarding their fate.
Circumstances of the Abduction
The couple, who hold both Egyptian and Turkish nationality, arrived in Tripoli on 11 July 2026 from Istanbul, where they were residing, through official entry points and with valid visas. After spending a week in Libya, during which they moved about publicly, they were abducted on 19 July 2026. Since then, no reliable information has been provided regarding their fate or whereabouts.
Conflicting Information Regarding Their Fate
The available information concerning the couple's fate remains contradictory and has not been officially confirmed. According to sources close to the family, the couple may have been forcibly transferred to Cairo as part of a coordination arrangement between certain services operating under the Government of National Unity and the Egyptian authorities. Other reports, however, indicate that they may still be victims of enforced disappearance at the hands of security agencies operating in Tripoli. To date, neither the Libyan nor the Egyptian authorities have issued any official statement confirming or denying either account.
Whatever version of events ultimately proves to be accurate, the situation remains deeply concerning: two individuals have been deprived of their liberty and placed outside the protection of the law, while their relatives are being kept in the dark about their fate and whereabouts. Such a situation constitutes enforced disappearance in itself and engages the responsibility of the authorities concerned.
The Family's Efforts in the Face of the Authorities' Silence
For several weeks, the couple's relatives have made repeated efforts to obtain official information about their fate. They have contacted the relevant interlocutors within the Libyan Government of National Unity on several occasions, as well as the competent Turkish authorities. They have also sought the assistance of several Libyan lawyers in order to obtain legal support, but have received no response.
In the face of the persistent absence of information and the authorities' silence, the family issued two public statements on 24 and 25 August 2026, holding the Libyan Government of National Unity and the Egyptian authorities fully responsible for the lives and safety of the two spouses.
Serious Risks to Their Lives and Physical Integrity
In Egypt, engineer Mahmoud Mohamed FATHI is subject to severe convictions handed down in absentia, carrying sentences of up to life imprisonment and the death penalty, in politically motivated cases involving proceedings that fail to meet the fundamental guarantees of a fair trial.
The undersigned organisations also draw attention to the particular danger facing his wife, Ms Hoda Mohamed Anwar. She is not involved in any political activity and suffers from serious health problems requiring continuous medical care. Her deprivation of liberty, combined with the absence of information regarding her place of detention and the conditions in which she is being held, gives rise to particularly serious risks to her life and physical integrity.
The Legal Obligations of the Authorities Concerned
The undersigned organisations remind the Libyan authorities of their international obligations, including the prohibition on transferring any person to a State where there are substantial grounds for believing that they would be at risk of torture or other serious violations of their fundamental rights, including their right to life and liberty.
Should it be established that Mahmoud Mohamed FATHI, a political opposition figure facing politically motivated convictions carrying sentences of up to the death penalty, was handed over to the Egyptian authorities together with his wife, who is not involved in any political activity, such a transfer would raise serious concerns under international law, particularly Article 3 of the Convention against Torture, which enshrines the principle of non-refoulement.
Conversely, should it be established that the two spouses remain detained by Libyan security agencies without their place of detention being disclosed or their fate officially acknowledged, this situation would constitute enforced disappearance, which is prohibited under international law.
In either scenario, the Libyan authorities are required to establish the full circumstances of their abduction and immediately ensure the protection of their lives and physical integrity. Their legal and moral responsibility cannot be evaded through the silence surrounding this case.
Alkarama's Actions
The undersigned organisations express their solidarity with the human rights advocacy efforts undertaken by Alkarama, an organisation based in Geneva, to obtain clarification regarding the fate of Mahmoud Mohamed FATHI and his wife and to ensure their protection.
As early as 22 July 2026, Alkarama had publicly condemned their abduction and alerted the Libyan authorities to the serious risks that any potential transfer of engineer Mahmoud Mohamed FATHI to the Egyptian authorities would pose to his fundamental rights, particularly in view of the death sentences handed down against him. The organisation emphasised that any such handover, or any forced expulsion, would expose him to a real risk of serious human rights violations.
Alkarama also called on the Presidential Council, the Government of National Unity and the Libyan General Intelligence Service to immediately disclose his place of detention, guarantee his right to communicate with his family and lawyers, and open an independent and transparent investigation into the circumstances of his arrest and disappearance.
As part of these ongoing efforts, on 2 September 2026, Alkarama urgently submitted the couple's case to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. It requested the Working Group's urgent intervention with the Libyan authorities to ensure that their fate and whereabouts were disclosed, that the circumstances of their abduction were investigated, that their family was informed of their situation, and that their physical integrity was guaranteed, including through protection against any risk of torture or ill-treatment.
Demands
In view of the persistent absence of official information and the lack of transparency surrounding this case, the undersigned human rights organisations call upon:
The Libyan Government of National Unity to:
End the silence surrounding this case and immediately disclose the circumstances of the abduction of the two spouses, their fate and their place of detention;
Identify the individuals and agencies responsible for their abduction and ensure that an independent and effective investigation is conducted;
Immediately release them if they are being held by its services or by agencies under its authority;
Put an end to any practice of forcibly handing over or expelling political opponents and individuals lawfully residing in Libyan territory to countries where they risk serious violations of their fundamental rights.
The Egyptian authorities to:
Immediately disclose the place of detention of the two spouses if they have been transferred into their custody;
Ensure that Ms Hoda Mohamed Anwar has urgent access to the medical care required by her state of health;
Guarantee both spouses the right to communicate freely with their family and lawyers.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya, as well as the competent international and Turkish bodies, to:
Intervene urgently to ensure effective monitoring of this case and exert the necessary pressure on all parties concerned to guarantee the safety of the two spouses and protect them against any risk of torture, ill-treatment or political reprisals.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to:
Take the necessary steps to establish the fate of the two spouses and prevent their forced transfer to Egypt in the absence of effective guarantees against the risk of serious violations of their fundamental rights.
Signatory Organisations:
Justice for Human Rights (JHR), Istanbul
Alkarama, Geneva
Free Voice, France
El-Shehab Centre for Human Rights, London
Solidarity for Human Rights, Geneva
Association of Victims of Torture, Geneva
EFDI International for Human Rights, Belgium
Tawasul for Human Rights, The Hague
CEDAR for Legal Studies, Lebanon
Council for the Rights of Egyptians, Geneva