Al-Karama institute for human rights reported Friday two incidents of forced disappearances that occurred during the past two months, accusing security forces of “arresting” the men without any legal recognition.
The first case is that of 40-year-old Talaat Hosni, who was arrested on 19 August as he attempted to board a train in Beni Suef, according to the institute. “Security personnel searched the train, and arrested Hosni.”
The NGO added that security forces didn’t present any justification or legal permit for the arrest, and that Hosni was imprisoned in an unknown place. His family appealed the prosecution office but did not receive a response.
The second case is on Abdel Rahman Al-Basir, who was arrested from his house in Fayoum last month. According to Al-Karama, police searched his father and assaulted Al-Basir’s family members. Similarly, the family tried to contact the interior ministry to complain, but in vain, Al-Karama reported.
Guinard Thomas-John, a legal officer at Al-Karama, said that the two cases do not only violate the international human rights agreements signed by Egypt, but also signals the absence of any monitoring on detention centres.
A Ministry of Interior spokesperson said the ministry can’t confirm or deny the incident, adding that police forces only arrest civilians if a legal permit exists.
In a report released late July, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Egyptian security forces of being involved in conducting forced disappearances, violating national and international law.
Article 54 of the Egyptian constitution states: “All those arrested or detained shall be informed of the reasons and of their rights in writing, and allowed to immediately contact their kin and lawyer, and be presented to the investigating authority within 24 hours of the time of arrest.”
Egypt is also a member of several international conventions that prohibit many practices that define forced disappearances, such as prolonged detention without charge and failure by security forces to inform close relatives of the whereabouts of their detained family member.
