107 people forcibly disappeared in Egypt

As many as 107 people had been forcibly disappeared in Egypt from 1 January until the end of March, a new report revealed.

The Stop Enforced Disappearance campaign said that 99 people had been located while eight remain in enforced disappearance.

According to the report, 45 people were held in custody, six had been released, one was convicted in court, three were released without trial and four people were acquitted.

The campaign said it could not definitively determine the fate of 40 people, but a majority of them were in detention.

According to the report, a majority of the victims – 49 people – were students followed by doctors, engineers and lawyers who ranked second with a total of 41 people. Fourteen state employees were also amongst those missing.

Read: Regeni’s family renew accusations against Egyptian security forces

The report said a majority of the victims reappear in the prosecution departments followed by police stations and prisons.

The report called for severe punishments for those who commit enforced disappearance.

Egypt faces domestic and international criticism of abuses, mostly enforced disappearances and torture in places of detention, but the authorities have repeatedly denied committing extrajudicial abuses or violations.

Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar said in a previous statement that “there is no enforced disappearance in Egypt.