Halt abuse of Syrian refugees, rights group urges Cairo

Egypt must stop unlawfully detaining and forcibly deporting Syrian refugees, international human rights group Amnesty International said in a report published Thursday.

“The Egyptian authorities have a duty to provide protection to anyone who has fled the conflict in Syria and is seeking safe refuge in their country,” the head of Refugee and Migrants’ Rights, Sherif Elsayed Ali, said. “At present Egypt is failing abysmally to meet its international obligations to protect even the most vulnerable refugees.”

Amnesty’s report cautioned that due to the conditions the refugees face in Egypt, increasing numbers are risking the dangerous sea voyage between Egypt and Europe in order to escape. The United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees reported a sharp increase in the last few months, with over 3,000 new refugees from Syria arriving by boat in Italy from Egypt since August; the total of refugees arriving from January to September was 6,000.

In 2011, 1,500 people died trying to make it from North Africa to Europe by sea voyages run by smugglers, according to the report. On October 3, over 300 people died when a boat carrying migrants from Libya sank of the coast of Italy, and as recently as October 11, a boat carrying Syrian refugees sank off the coast of Alexandria, killing 12.

In another incident off the coast of Alexandria September 17, two people were reportedly shot and killed when the Egyptian Navy fired on a vessel sailing to Italy before towing it back to Egypt. Amnesty International said it found no evidence that anybody from the boat fired on the Egyptians.

“We want a legal way to leave Egypt so that we don’t have to use the sea. We cannot live here any more,” Amnesty quoted a refugee whose husband was arrested and taken off from a boat trying to reach Italy.

Amnesty also reported that Egypt is stopping boats carrying refugees to Europe and arresting and detaining them on charges of illegal migration, citing UNHCR findings that 946 people have been arrested in such incidents and 724 remain in detention.

It accused Egypt’s national security agency of holding refugees, some of whom had residence permits or UNHRC cards, in detention indefinitely and without legal basis despite orders from prosecutors that they be released.

When Egypt was ruled by former president Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, the country had an open-door policy for Syrian refugees. However, since they were removed from power in a military-backed coup in July, Syrians have come under attack from the public and the government, due in part to suspicions that they backed the Muslim Brotherhood.

“In the name of the Egyptian people, I tell all Syrians living in Egypt, a 48-hour ultimatum, the Egyptian people have all the addresses where you live, those who rent flats and those who live in New Damietta City… and those who live in Sadat City, those who live in 6 October City. All the addresses, the Egyptian people have them and give you a 48-hour ultimatum. If you sit with the Muslim Brotherhood after 48 hours, the people will come out to destroy your houses. Your addresses are all there. The people will come out to destroy your houses,” Egyptian talk show host Tawfiq Okasha said in a broadcast in July, according to Amnesty’s report.

On July 8, the new Egyptian government began imposing temporary restrictions requiring Syrian refugees to obtain visas before entering, which UNHCR reported has effectively ceased the migration of Syrians to Egypt. As of July 26, 476 Syrians had been deported or denied entry since the restrictions went into effect, it reported.

Amnesty also reported two confirmed collective deportations of refugees back to Damascus.

“Sending refugees back to a bloody conflict zone is a serious violation of international law. Refugees who have fled are at an obvious risk of human rights abuses,” Ali said.

The Syrian civil war has killed over 100,000 people and created at least 2 million refugees.