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Morocco: Alkarama Calls on Authorities not to extradite Sayed Omar to Egypt
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Alkarama sent an urgent appeal to the Committee against Torture on 11 August 2014, asking the Committee to take interim measures to ensure that Morocco temporarily blocks the extradition process of Egyptian citizen, Sayed Omar Salem Omar, a senior member of the Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, whose members have been subject to a bloody crackdown by the Egyptian authorities for over a year.
As Director of the University Publishing House, Omar was traveling to an international book fair in Morocco when he was arrested by the Moroccan authorities under an international arrest warrant issued against him by the Egyptian authorities. Whilst in jail pending his extradition, Omar was notified that he was prosecuted by the Egyptian authorities for allegedly participating in a demonstration in August 2013 aiming to, inter alia, "undermine public order and committing crimes against public officials." Having not taken part in a single demonstration against the new government, Omar rejects those accusations, which are all the more surprising that although Omar was in Egypt when the authorities issued the arrest warrant, he was able to leave the Egyptian territory without encountering difficulties with the national authorities.
Omar's counsels fear that he would face torture or even the death penalty if he were to be extradited. These fears are based on the fact that, due to their political affiliation, Omar and some of his relatives have already been tortured. Moreover, with the ongoing climate of repression in Egypt, there is every reason to believe that Omar would be subject to abuse and not benefit from the protection of the law. Despite being informed of the above, the Court of Cassation in Rabat granted the request of the authorities in June, a decision that awaits an extradition decree of the Head of the Moroccan government.
To prevent such a situation from occurring, Alkarama seized the UN Committee against Torture (CAT) to call upon the Moroccan authorities not to extradite Omar pending review of his case. As a party to the Convention against Torture, it is important that the Kingdom of Morocco respects the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the turning away of victims of persecution to their prosecutors.
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