On Tuesday 16 march 2004, the administrative court will review a lawsuit filed by HRAAP to consider against the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Interior, as well as the Libyan Embassy in Cairo to determine the fate of 21 Egyptian citizens were missed in Libya after exposing to swindle on the pretext of traveling to work in Italy. HRAAP had filed a lawsuit on 25/1/2004, No. 9718/ 58 judicial year.

The incident dates back to 16 until 23 October 2001, when 24 Egyptian citizens, from Zennara village in Menofeya governorate, legally traveled to Libya through Al-Salloum outlet on Egypt-Libya borders. An Egyptian resident in Libya had alleged that he could send them to Italy through Libya to get jobs there. Each one of them paid 15.000 LE allegedly to obtain visas to Italy and for travel by sea expenses. The same person took their passports on the pretext of getting the visas from the Italian Embassy to return the passports before their trip. Then, he prepared accommodation for them in Libya.

Accordingly, a ship was going to take them to Italy. However, since then they have not contacted their families in Cairo.

 

Missing people’s families addressed numerous official and unofficial authorities including Egypt’s Foreign and Interior Ministries, Libya’s Embassy in Cairo, Egypt’s Embassy in Libya and Egyptian newspapers, in an attempt to determine the fate of their relatives. Thus, the families felt obliged to travel to Libya more than once where they met the Libyan Prosecutor General who sent them to see the chief of criminal investigations. The latter promised to search for the missing person within one week then later refused to meet the families. The families learned from some relatives in Libya that the Libyan coast guard arrested the missing persons and returned them to Libya where they were detained in a political prison in “Al-Saha Al-Khadraa” because the boat they boarded belonged to the Libyan Navy. They were also told that nobody could approach this prison. There were also rumors that they were extra-judicial executed in Libya.

 

On 10 December 2002, HRAAP appealed to the following authorities:

1.        The Presidency of the Republic

2.        Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Ahmed Maher

3.        Libya’s Ambassador in Egypt Mr. Mohammed Mohammed Mubarak 

4.        Secretary General of the League of Arab States Mr. Amr Mosa 

5.        Secretary General of the Arab Lawyers’ Union Mr. Farouk Eissa

6.        Head of the Arab Lawyers’ Union Dr. sameh Ashour

 

On 6 January 2003, HRAAP received a letter from the Libyan Embassy indicating the following:

The Libyan charge d’affaires in Egypt informed the relevant authorities in Libya about the missing Egyptians. The authorities replied stating that these persons are not registered in Libya and they knew nothing about them.

 

On 20 October 2003, HRAAP received another letter contradicting the first one as follows:

            The concerned authorities in Libya denied that the mentioned Egyptians were imprisoned in any Libyan prison, and the 23 pertaining to the missing Egyptians were found, except for one passport not included in the list of he missing persons belonging to Wagih Al-Sayed Al-Shennawy. An Egyptian living in Libya called Sayed Al-Maghawry delivered the 23 passports to the Egyptian Embassy in Libya.

 

In a new development, the families were certain that their sons had been victims of swindling on part of Yasser Abdel-Rahman Isma’el Al-Sobhy after their arrest in Egypt and a trial in case No. 13684, 14168/ 2002 Nozha Misdemeanors on 29 January 2003. They were sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor and paying fees. The sentence was because they swindled and jeopardized the lives of the Egyptian citizens on the pretext of sending them to work in Italy through Libya.

 

In spite of all the mentioned facts and the long time these persons have been missing, the families of the victims can only resort to court to oblige the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior, as well as the Libyan Embassy in Cairo, to disclose the fate of their relatives.