At least four men were arrested or disappeared last month for openly following the Ahmadi religion

Members of religious minorities and atheists are often summoned and questioned by the National Security Agency or otherwise threatened or harassed

Ahmed Al-Tanawi, a 28-year-old Syrian asylum seeker, is at imminent risk of deportation to Syria

‘It is outrageous that these men have been targeted and forcibly disappeared simply for not espousing state-sanctioned religious beliefs’ - Mahmoud Shalaby

The Egyptian authorities must stop all plans to forcibly return a Syrian asylum seeker who is at risk of deportation to Syria as early as 9 April and end their ongoing crackdown on members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, Amnesty International and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) said today.

Between 8 and 14 March this year, Amnesty International and EIPR documented the arbitrary detention of at least four members of the religious minority solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of religion. The men, who include two Syrian brothers registered as asylum seekers with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), were detained at their homes in three different governorates.

Three of them were subsequently subjected to enforced disappearance with their whereabouts currently unknown, while one man remains held incommunicado.

Mahmoud Shalaby, Egypt and Libya Researcher at Amnesty International, said:

“It is outrageous that these men have been targeted and forcibly disappeared simply for not espousing state-sanctioned religious beliefs. The Egyptian authorities have legal obligations to respect and protect the right to freedom of religion of everyone in the country which includes those with religious beliefs not recognised by the state.

“Instead of arbitrarily detaining and forcibly disappearing people for exercising their religious beliefs or threatening to deport them, the Egyptian authorities should immediately disclose the men’s fate and whereabouts and unconditionally release them.”

Ahmed Al-Tanawi: A banner triggers a crackdown

Among those targeted is Ahmed Al-Tanawi, a 28-year-old Syrian asylum seeker registered with UNHCR, who is at imminent risk of deportation to Syria.  The security situation in Syria remains volatile and Amnesty continues to oppose forced returns to the country.

The latest crackdown on members of the Ahmadi religious minority was triggered when a member of the religious group hung a banner advertising an Ahmadi TV channel on a pedestrian bridge in Giza in early March. Amnesty and EIPR reviewed a photograph of the banner hanging on the bridge, which showed a TV channel affiliated with the Ahmadi religion (“Zahra al-Mahdi”, meaning “Mahdi Has Appeared”), and featured a photo of its leader.

On 8 March, security forces arrested the individual who hung the banner. He was released later that day without charge, according to Imran Ali, the UK-based bishop of the Ahmadi religion in Egypt and another Ahmadi man who was in touch with the individual after his release.

It appears that the security forces identified three of the Ahmadi men after searching his phone and finding a Telegram group for members of the religious group in Egypt, of which the three of were members, according to Imran Ali and the men’s relatives.

On 11 March, police officers in plain clothes rearrested Ahmed Al-Tanawi and his brother, Hussein Mohammed Hassan Al-Tanawi, also an asylum seeker registered with UNHCR, at their house in 6th of October City in Giza governorate, without presenting an arrest warrant, according to a family member.

Ahmed remains held incommunicado at the “6th October First Police Station”, while Hussein’s whereabouts remain unknown. On 15 March, a police officer informally told EIPR’s lawyer that Ahmed was accused of “membership in a terrorist organisation”.

On 25 March, Hussein’s family submitted a complaint to the public prosecution, which was reviewed by Amnesty and EIPR, to inquire about his whereabouts. The family is yet to receive a response.

On 6 April, police forced Ahmed Al-Tanawi’s family to purchase a ticket for him to Syria, threatening to deprive him of medication for his heart condition. His flight is scheduled for early tomorrow morning, according to his family.

Homes violently raided

On 10 March, security forces arrested Omar Mahmoud Abdelmaguid Mohamed Ibrahim, another member of the Ahmadi religious minority, following a violent raid on his home in Cairo. His whereabouts remain unknown.

A member of Omar’s family said that since the arrest, his house has been under constant police surveillance. Police officers searched the house again on the same day to arrest Omar’s brother-in-law, Hazem Saied Mohamed Abd El-Moatamed, who had fled. However, he was arrested three days later, on 13 March, in 10th of Ramadan City in Sharqia Governorate, according to one of his relatives. He remains forcibly disappeared.

Amnesty and EIPR reviewed copies of complaints submitted by family members of Omar Mahmoud Abdelmaguid Mohamed Ibrahim and Hazem Saied Mohamed Abd El-Moatamed to the prosecution on 25 March, inquiring about their whereabouts. To date, the family has not received a response.

In separate incidents, at least four other members of the religious minority were arrested throughout March, with their fate and whereabouts currently unknown, according to Imran Ali.  He said that three of them messaged him to say they were about to be arrested. He has not heard back from them since.

Part of a wider crackdown on religious freedom

Religious minorities including Coptic Christians, Shi'a Muslims and Bahá’ís consistently face discrimination in law and/or practice in Egypt. Members of religious minorities, atheists and others not espousing state-sanctioned religious beliefs are summoned and questioned by the National Security Agency or otherwise threatened or harassed, including by their educational institutions and online.