Egypt: 99 cases of enforced disappearance

A government human rights official in Egypt said on Friday that 99 Egyptian detainees have disappeared from prisons. Investigations are ongoing into 70 other cases of forced disappearance.

Mohamed Faeq, head of the state affiliated National Council of Human Rights said in a statement: “The Council is gravely concerned by the reports of forced disappearance, especially after receiving numerous calls from the public and meetings with the interior ministry.”

Faeq added that the Council held meetings with the interior ministry to obtain information about the reported cases of enforced disappearance. He also said that his Council had handed over 191 complaints to the ministry in this regard.

“We have received 118 replies from the interior ministry; they confirmed that 15 detainees were freed, 99 kept in remand, while three escaped from prisons and one escaped from his family,” Faeq revealed.

On several occasions in the past Faeq had denied there were any cases of enforced disappearance. He now admits that he is in constant contact with the interior ministry and other agencies in the country to know the fate of the missing detainees.