Complainer:
The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) is a non-governmental institution that works to reinforce and support the status of justice in the Arab regions – ACIJLP is the coordinator of the Arab Coalition for International Criminal Court.
Information about the Victims:
About 20 to 25 Egyptian nationals were arrested by Kuwaiti Security Authorities, 4 of them suffered forced repatriation to Egypt on Saturday – 10/4/2010, and the rest of them will be forcedly repatriated in three groups. ACIJLP couldn’t obtain any information on the age of the victims.
4 Egyptians from the supporters of “National Association for Change” chaired by Dr. Mohamed El Baradi’e (the former director of International Atomic Energy Agency) arrived to Cairo Airport yesterday after being forcedly repatriated by Kuwaiti Security Authorities in the wake of arresting 30 Egyptians in the aforementioned date during their attempt to organize a meeting to launch a branch of this association in Kuwait to undertake the collection of signatures of Egyptians there to validate a proxy to Dr. El Baradi’e to ask for the amendment of the constitution. The forced repatriated arrived on Kuwaiti Airlines – Flight “541” from Kuwait. They were interrogated with the Egyptian Security Authorities at Cairo Airport to know about the circumstances of their arrest in Kuwait.
Following are the names of the forced repatriated:
- Aly Mohamed Abdel Karim El Haddad
- Romani Shehata Malak
- Tamer Farrag Farghly
Ahmed Abdel Aziz Sobhy
Detailed Description of the Violation:
On Friday – 9/4/2010, a group of Egyptians – supporters to the nomination of Dr. El Baradi’e for the coming presidential election due to be held in 2011 – organized a peaceful meeting in Al Salimyea (Eastern Kuwaiti City) to express their support to Dr. El Baradi’e, yet they were arrested as well as other people taken from thier homes or nearby their homes.
The Violation: ACIJLP sees this forced repatriation as a violation to the international instruments, given the fact that there are serious fears that those repatriated could suffer torture.
The Violated Instruments:
Article 13 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights “An alien lawfully in the territory of a State Party to the present Covenant may be expelled therefrom only in pursuance of a decision reached in accordance with law and shall, except where compelling reasons of national security otherwise require, be allowed to submit the reasons against his expulsion and to have his case reviewed by, and be represented for the purpose before, the competent authority or a person or persons especially designated by the competent authority”.
Article 3/1 from the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment “Each State Party shall ensure in its legal system that the victim of an act of torture obtains redress and has an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation including the means for as full rehabilitation as possible. In the event of the death of the victim as a result of an act of torture, his dependents shall be entitled to compensation“.
The Status of Kuwait regarding the ratification of the instruments related to this violation:
- Kuwait ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 21/5/1996 and was effectuated in 21/8/1996.
- Kuwait ratified the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 8/3/1996 and was effectuated in 6/4/1996.
ACIJLP Claims:
ACIJLP calls upon Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Immigrants for prompt action to immediately release the arrested and stop the forced repatriation to the rest of the aforementioned detainees, and the same time ensure that the forcedly repatriated aren’t suffering any kind of torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Nasser Amin
Director General ACIJLP
