News briefing
By: Committee for Justice
Geneva: December 5th 2023
The Committee for Justice condemned the Egyptian authorities’ deportation of four foreign activists to their countries, following their organization of a protest in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cairo to demand the opening of the Rafah crossing and to obtain security clearance for an international relief convoy to the Gaza Strip.
Legitimate Demands:
The foreign protesters had requested entry to the ministry to deliver a letter addressed to the Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, to obtain the necessary security clearance for the “Conscience of the World Convoy,” which includes doctors, journalists, lawyers, and relief workers, aiming to travel to the Rafah crossing to deliver essential humanitarian aid and alleviate the burden on relief efforts and workers in the Gaza Strip. They also demanded the opening of the Rafah crossing, allowing the free flow of all humanitarian aid, facilitating the evacuation of injured and sick Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, urging the international community to provide necessary medical means, assisting doctors, journalists, human rights lawyers, and disaster relief teams in entering Gaza, and finally, supporting the Egyptian government’s aid to the Palestinian people in resisting Israeli settlement plans to expel Palestinians and seize Palestinian lands.
Detention at Police Station Followed by Deportation:
The four activists, including John Parker (American), an Australian activist, an Argentine activist, and a French activist, had arrived in Egypt to participate in the convoy. They formed an independent group separate from the convoy organizers after failing to obtain security clearances. The Committee for Justice documented that the authorities transferred the four foreigners from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Boulaq police station, where they were detained for more than 24 hours before being deported.
Violation of International Law Principles:
CFJ states that the treatment of the foreign activists is a clear violation of international norms and fundamental human rights, including the right to freedom of movement and expression as stipulated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, especially Article 13. Moreover, the Egyptian authorities’ action contradicted the principles and provisions of “expulsion of foreigners” in international law, as outlined by the United Nations. These principles include the prohibition of expelling any foreigner without a reasoned expulsion decision for legally specified reasons, to be assessed reasonably and in good faith, and not in violation of a state’s international law obligations. The first paragraph of Article 1 of Protocol 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights also emphasizes the need to make expulsion decisions according to the law, providing the foreigner with procedural safeguards such as presenting defenses against the expulsion decision and having their case reviewed by competent authorities.
CFJ calls on the Egyptian authorities to stop targeting human rights defenders and to respect international principles and norms in dealing with foreigners and upholding fundamental human rights.
