The Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners Campaign

Hand in Hand …Torture in Egypt

Cairo: 27/7/2004
 

Condemning the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs because of shortage in protecting Egyptians abroad

The Administrative Justice Court issues a historic judgment for the Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners that condemns Egyptian Ministry of Foreign because of shortage in protecting Egyptians abroad. It was obligated to take all diplomatic means and legal procedures to unveil the ambiguity of the disappearance of 21 Egyptian citizens missed in Libya after getting out of the Egyptian territories into the Libyan territories legally

The Administrative Justice Court issues a historic judgment for the Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners against the Egyptian Ministry of Interior and Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Libyan Embassy in Cairo to unveil the status of 21 Egyptian citizens missed in Libya, after they have been swindled on the allegation of getting a contract to work in Italy through the Libyan territories. The court obligated in the verdict Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take all diplomatic means and legal procedures to unveil the ambiguity of the disappearance of 21 Egyptian citizens missed in Libya after getting out of the Egyptian territories legally.

The court asserted that the state respect and its power depend on two coupled things that respecting citizens rights and freedoms inside the state and protecting their rights abroad by diplomatic delegations and consulates that its role do not have to be exclusive to attending conferences but taking care of Egyptians conditions and helping them within the limits of basis from the international rules and performing the constitutive duties related to this matter.

As a hint to the aggravation of the phenomenon of maltreatment to Egyptians abroad and absence of the adequate protection to them that have to be adopted by consulates and diplomatic delegations abroad, the court asserted that the time has come for Egyptian to be treated out of Egypt as the treatment of foreigner and Arab people in Egypt within the limits of its policy and the soul of its people that receive foreigners and Arab people within the limits of kind treatment and respecting human rights. The legal reasons of the case asserted the shortage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as it does not follow the investigations that took place concerning the disappearance incident and satisfied with a response from Libya that did not clarify the status of the Egyptians who have got out of Egypt searching for source subsistence. 

The incidents date back to the period between 16, 23/10/2001, when 24 Egyptian citizens, all of them from Zenara village-Tala- Minofeya, have gone to Libya lawfully through Al-Salloum, on the Egyptian-Libyan borders. This happened after one of the Egyptian residents in Libya had deluded them in claiming that he can send them to Italy through Libya in order to get a job there. Consequently, each one of them has paid 15000 pounds to get them visas to Italy and the fees of traveling by sea. Then, the same person took the passports alleging that he will sign them from the Embassy of Italy and will return it to them when they are going to travel by sea, then he prepared places of accommodation for them in Libya.    

According to what they have agreed on, a ship was ready to take the victims (the missed) to Italy, since then, there is no any contact between them and their families in Cairo.

On the other hand, the disappeared victims' families appealed to many officials and non-officials authorities attempting to know the destiny of their disappeared relatives. These officials are the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Egyptian Ministry of Interior, the Libyan Embassy in Cairo, the Egyptian Embassy in Libya and the heads and managers of the Egyptian Journals. However, all these contacts resulted in nothing. That is what urged some of these families to travel to Libya more than once. Then they have met the Attorney-General of Libya, who sent them to the chief of the Criminal Investigations promising them to search for them within one week; afterwards he refused to meet them again. Later on, the victims’ families knew from their relatives in Libya that the Libyan coastal forces arrested them and returned them to Libya where they have been detained in political prisons in the Green Court, because the ship they boarded belongs to Libyan Navy and none can approach or even ask about them in that prison. In addition, it was rumored that they have been hanged unlawfully.    

On the other hand, in 10/12/2002, HRAAP appealed to:

The Presidency of the Republic

The Minster of the foreign Affairs/ Ahmed Maher

His excellency /Mohamed Mohamed Mubarak (Ambassador of Libya in Egypt)

His excellency/ Amr Mousa (secretary-general of the Arab League)

Mr. Farouk Eissa (secretary-general of the Arab Lawyers Union)

Dr. Sameh Ashour (Head of the Arab Lawyers Union)

In 6/1/2003, HRAAP received a letter from the Libyan embassy indicating that:

(The representative of the Libyan affairs in Egypt told the authorities in Libya about those missing Egyptians, and the authorities replied him that they are not registered and nothing is known about them.

In 20/10/2003, HRAAP received another letter, contradicting the first one as follows:

(The concerned authorities in Libya asserted that the Egyptians are not imprisoned in any of the Libyan prisons. Moreover, 23 passports, belong to the missing Egyptians, were found except for one passport that is not included in the list of the missed, named / Wageeh Al said Alshenawy. One of the Egyptians residents in Libya called /Said Al Maghawry handed the 23 passports of the missed to the Egyptian embassy in Trabuls)

In the course of events, the victims families became sure that their missed were swindled by /Yasser Abd Rahman Ismail and his father / Abd Rahman Ismail Alsobhey, after arresting them and sending them for a trial in Egypt, issue no. 14168/13684/2002 (Al Nozha felonies), session 29/1/2003. The criminals were sentenced to three years with paying the expenses of the lawyer.

This is because they deluded many Egyptian citizens claiming that they can send them to Italy through Libya, in addition they exposed their lives to danger.

The Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners appeals to the Ministry of Interior to do its best to protect and maintain the Egyptians properties abroad and offer the necessary legal support to them if they are detained or exposed to any legal troubles when they are abroad to maintain his dignity.

In spite of all these events and the long term of missing, the families of the victims had nothing to do but to resort to the legal authorities to make the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interiors in Cairo to determine their destiny.

The Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners