Egyptian border guards arrested seven Syrians who were about to board a boat to illegally emigrate to Italy.
The Syrians were arrested near the shore in Rashid. They said a Syrian man was going to help them emigrate to Ïtaly in return for US$3,000 each.
The International Federation for Human Rights meanwhile urged the UN and EU member states to urgently address the status of Syrians in Egypt, adding that refugees face an increasingly hostile situation which includes risk of violence, arrest and deportation. The international community is indifferent to Syrian refugees’ suffering, the organization claimed.
On 17 September 2013, Egyptian border guards opened fire on a boat leaving Alexandria for Italy, carrying over a hundred Syrian and Palestinian refugees. Two were killed. “This is the latest lethal illustration of the plight facing Syrian refugees in Egypt,” the FIDH said.
From July to September 2013, FIDH said it has received reports of over 50 Syrian refugees being deported from Egypt to Lebanon and Turkey. FIDH is extremely concerned that deportations are taking place outside the legal framework and without asylum claims having been examined, in violation of international law.
FIDH called on the Egyptian authorities to conduct an independent, impartial investigation into the use of lethal force against refugees attempting to leave Egypt by boat. FIDH further called on the government to guarantee the safety of Syrians living in Egypt.
It also called on the Special Rapporteurs on migrant’s rights of the UN and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to coordinate efforts to ensure that Egyptian authorities respect their international and regional obligations.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
