Twenty-three refugees from Syria – 21 Syrians and two Palestinians – are at risk of deportation from Egypt, including five women and nine children. The two Palestinians will likely be sent to Lebanon and the 21 Syrians to Turkey. The group sought refuge in Egypt after fleeing the armed conflict in Syria. Under international law, Egypt has a responsibility to protect people fleeing the conflict.

The 23 individuals are from a group of Syrians and Palestinians who had fled Syria and were arrested by the Egyptian navy in late August 2013 on an island near Alexandria where smugglers had dropped them. The smugglers were paid around US$3,500 per person to take them to Italy. The Egyptian navy took them to Abu Qir military camp in eastern Alexandria, where they were held for one day. On 31 August they were transferred to the 2nd Montazah Police Station in Alexandria. They were accused of leaving Egypt irregularly. The prosecutor investigated the case, questioning them in the police station two days after their arrival there, and ordered their release. However, the police have not released them for vague ”national security” reasons.

Currently, there are 21 Syrians, including three women and nine children, and two Palestinian women, held in the police station. The men are held in a detention cell with individuals charged with criminal offences. One of the men has blood cancer and requires medical attention but has not been allowed access to doctors. The children in particular are suffering from skin diseases as a result of unhealthy conditions of detention. One Syrian man was beaten by officials and held in solitary confinement for six hours for having criticized the way a police officer talked with his sister and mother.

At least 236 Syrians and Palestinians from Syria have already been deported by the Egyptian authorities to Turkey and Lebanon.

Please write immediately in Arabic or your own language:
Urging the authorities not to deport the 23 refugees;
Calling on them to release all of the individuals and give them access to UNHCR and, for the Palestinians, access to the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Egypt, if they wish;
Urging them to uphold their international obligations, under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1969 Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, to provide international protection for those fleeing serious human rights violations and the armed conflict in Syria;
Urging them to allow the detained individuals access to any medical treatment they may need and to be held in conditions which comply with international standards.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 25 OCTOBER 2013 TO:
Minister of the Interior
Mohamed Ibrahim Youssef Ahmed
Ministry of the Interior
25 El Sheikh Rihan Street
ab al-Louk, Cairo, Egypt
Fax: +202 279 455 29
Salutation: Dear Minister
Prosecutor General
Counsellor Hesham Mohamed Zaki Barakat
Office of the Public Prosecutor
Supreme Court House
1 “26 July” Road, Cairo, Egypt
Fax: +202 2 577 4716
Salutation: Dear Counsellor
And copies to:
Deputy Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Human Rights
Mahy Hassan Abdel Latif
Human Rights and International Humanitarian and Social Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Corniche al-Nil, Cairo, Egypt
Fax: +202 2 574 9713

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

URGENT ACTION
Syrian conflict refugees face deportation

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
According to UNHCR, there are 117,470 refugees from Syria registered or awaiting registration in Egypt. After the military removed Mohamed Morsi from power on 3 July 2013, much stricter entry requirements were suddenly imposed on Syrians entering Egypt on 8 July, requiring them to obtain visas before travel. Since 1 July the authorities have arrested at least 250 Syrians and Palestinians, with at least 70 being held in detention and deported at least 236. On 26 July UNHCR expressed concern about the situation facing Syrian refugees in Egypt, warning of arbitrary arrests amid a “growing anti-Syrian sentiment”.

More than half of the some 530,000 Palestinian refugees living in Syria have become displaced by the Syrian conflict and related human rights abuses. More than 1,400 have been killed, the vast majority of them civilians, according to local activists.

Name: 21 Syrians and 2 Palestinian refugees from Syria

Gender m/f: both