The Committee for Justice (CFJ) has condemned the Egyptian authorities at Cairo International Airport for arbitrarily detaining three Algerian lawyers on Wednesday, June 11, without any legal justification.
Security forces at Cairo Airport detained the lawyers—Mustaphaoui Samir, Mohamed Atef Briki, and Abbas Abd El-Nour—and confiscated their phones and official documents without providing any legal justification.
These measures come amid a broader pattern of harassment by Egyptian authorities against Algerian and Moroccan nationals, including interrogations at various Egyptian airports and seaports regarding their participation in what is known as the “Freedom Caravan.” Some individuals have been detained following arrests from several hotels in the greater Cairo and Alexandria areas, in an attempt to deport them and prevent participants from joining the convoy aimed at breaking the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip.
The CFJ regards the detention of the three Algerian lawyers as a flagrant violation of freedom of movement—a fundamental human right—as well as a suppression of freedom of expression. Therefore, the committee urges the Egyptian authorities to immediately release the three lawyers, allow them to express their views without any restrictions, identify those responsible for the violations committed against them, and ensure that perpetrators are not allowed to evade accountability, which has become a systematic feature of the current authorities in Egypt.