Thirteen Egyptian and international human rights organizations expressed “grave concern” over the ongoing enforced disappearance of student Ahmed Hassan Mostafa, who turned 25 on Sept. 1. He has been missing for more than six years since his arrest in April 2019.
In a joint statement, the groups said that despite numerous complaints and reports filed with Mokattam police station, the public prosecutor, and the National Council for Human Rights, Egyptian authorities have refused to disclose his whereabouts or the conditions of his detention.
They noted that Mokattam police declined to register his disappearance, and that the Interior Ministry ignored a March 2020 Administrative Court order to disclose his location. The ministry appealed the ruling, but the appeal was dismissed, leaving the case in limbo.
The organizations’ statement highlights that Mostafa’s case is part of a wider pattern of enforced disappearances in Egypt. The “Stop Enforced Disappearance” campaign has documented 4,253 such cases between 2015 and the end of Aug. 2024.
The groups assert that this continued practice, along with the government’s disregard for court rulings and official complaints, is “a flagrant violation of Egypt’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.”
They also criticize the government’s denial of these cases, noting that this stance was maintained despite recommendations made during Egypt’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations Human Rights Council in January. The statement concludes that this lack of transparency and widespread impunity prolongs the suffering of hundreds of families.
The signatory organizations are calling for immediate action: the disclosure of Mostafa’s location, guarantees for his physical and psychological safety, and the enforcement of court rulings in his favor. They are also urging Egypt to join the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, and to align national laws with its international obligations in this regard.
Signatories include the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, the Stop Enforced Disappearance campaign, El Nadeem Center, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, the Egyptian Front for Human Rights, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, Law and Democracy Support Foundation, Refugees Platform in Egypt, EgyptWide for Human Rights, Egyptian Human Rights Forum, as well as international groups People in Need and the Committee for Justice.
The United Nations defines enforced disappearance as an arrest, detention, or abduction by state officials, or by individuals acting with the state’s support, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person’s whereabouts. This practice effectively places the individual outside the protection of the law.
During the UPR in January, the UN Human Rights Council’s review team issued 343 recommendations from 137 states on Egypt’s human rights record. Key demands included combating enforced disappearances, the practice of re-arresting released detainees, and the release of political prisoners, in addition to ensuring press freedom.
