A citizen was imprisoned after enforced disappearance for more than two weeks, on a background of calling for demonstrations in the same period of holding COP27 in Egypt.

On 1oth October 2022, the Egyptian Front for Human Rights (EFHR) monitored that the State Security Prosecution (SSSP) ordered to imprison of Abd al-Salam Abd al-Ghani Abd al-Salam (55 years – an engineer) for 15 days pending case No. 1691/2022, on the background of joining a Facebook group calling for demonstrations in the same period of holding COP27 in Egypt, between November 7-18 in Sharm El-Sheikh. Where he was enforced disappeared for more than two weeks after his arrest

Abd al-Salam was arrested on 25th September September 2022 from his home by National Security Agency forces, then took him to the National Security headquarters in the Sixth of October region, where he was interrogated about his relationship with a Facebook group called (our right), which calls for demonstrations on 11th November, 2022 under the title “Climate Revolution”, in the same period of holding COP27 in Egypt. Then was asked about its relationship to the publications on this group and its members and was kept in the National Security headquarters until he appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution for interrogation.

Context: National human rights organizations have estimated tens of thousands persons arbitrarily detained on political grounds since 2013 in Egypt, such as, Alaa Abdel Fattah, Mohamed El-Baker, Marwa Arafa, Ismail Al-Iskandarani, Mohamed Oxygen, Aisha Al Shater, Ibrahim Metwally, Ezzat Ghoneim, Hoda Abdel Moneim, Ahmed Abdelsattar Amasha, Anas El Beltagy, Seif Fateen, Sherif Al Rouby. These arrests are effectively turning Egypt into an open-air prison where the security services are unrelentingly closing any remaining independent political, social and cultural spaces. Anyone defending and promoting human rights or voicing criticism to political, economic or social conditions faces arbitrary arrests, detention, enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment, judicial harassment, travel bans, asset freezes, closure of NGO offices, restrictive legislation among others. They often face charges of alleged association with a banned organization, spreading false news, and threatening national security. This includes prolonged pre-trial detention including rotation or harsh sentencing. Standards of fair trial, regard for evidence, and due process have been tossed aside, and the Egyptian State aims to intimidate peaceful critics and treats them as criminals for simply exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly.