27 January 2015

Egypt: Abdullah Zalat Released

Alkarama welcomes the release of Abdullah Abdulhallem Abdulhallem Zalat on 26 January 2015, for whom it had sent an urgent appeal to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) asking for his release. Abdullah Zalat, a 31-year-old civil engineer had been abducted by the Egyptian Homeland Security forces after several members of the security forces had raided his house in the city of Tanta, 100km north of Cairo.

His release without charges confirms his family's suspicion that Zalat had been abducted because of his political affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that has been the subject of a particularly violent repression from the authorities. Fortunately, and unlike many cases documented by Alkarama, Zalat did not report acts of ill-treatment after his release.

Despite this release, Alkarama reiterates its call to the Egyptian authorities to put an immediate end to the practice of enforced disappearances, a practice that has escalated in the past year and is a very serious human rights violation under international law.

The authorities should also take effective steps to protect the rights of their citizens and to hold to account those responsible of the violations. In this sense, Alkarama calls for thorough and impartial investigations into the deaths of at least 33 people and to ensure that all fair trials rights are applied to more than 500 people arrested during the fourth anniversary of January 25th revolution. Egypt should also consider accessing the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances (ICCPED).

For more information or an interview, please contact the media team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Dir: +41 22 734 1007 Ext: 810)

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