Egypt: Arrests of Syrians Raise Deportation Fears

Asylum Seekers, Legal Residents Taken from Checkpoints

July 25, 2013

"(New York) – Egyptian authorities should stop arbitrarily detaining Syrians and threatening to summarily deport them. The authorities should release the Syrian detainees unless they are promptly charged with a valid offense, and not deport Syrians with visas or asylum seekers without their claims being impartially reviewed.

On July 19 and 20, 2013, Egyptian police and military police arrested at least 72 Syrian men and nine boys at checkpoints on main roads in Cairo. Those who remain in custody, including registered asylum seekers and at least nine Syrians with valid visas or residence permits, have apparently not been charged with any offense. The authorities have threatened to deport at least 14 of them to countries neighboring Syria, Human Rights Watch said.

“There is growing hostility in Egypt to the Syrians who fled there seeking refuge from the war,” said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “But a tense political climate is no excuse for police and army officers to pull dozens of Syrian men and boys off of public transport and throw them in jail without regard for their rights.”......"