No one disappeared forcibly in Egypt: Legal Affairs Min.

CAIRO – 21 December 2017: Minister of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Omar Marwan claimed that Egypt isn’t host to incidents of "enforced disappearances" and that no one is arrested inside Egyptian prisons without judicial verdict.

He added during a press conference conducted at the State Information Service on Thursday that the term of "enforced disappearance" implies an individual is missing after being arrested without anyone's knowledge.

Marwan said that real and serious investigations have been conducted concerning the matter. He added that the results proved most of the names reported to have disappeared forcibly are in prison for different reasons, including carrying out judicial verdicts or alleged involvement with illegal migration or terrorist acts.

"Using the term ‘enforced disappearance’ in these cases is not completely accurate," Marwan explained. "I defy anyone to probe the opposite."

Marwan also said that President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi is personally following up on the latest updates over human rights issues in the state. He added that this issue comes among Sisi's top priorities.

Diaa Rashwan, head of the State Information Service, affirmed in his speech that Egypt's Prosecutor General Nabil Sadeq decided to establish a Human Rights Department affiliated to his office to receive complaints and investigate reports of such matters.

Rashwan noted that the state is highly concerned about human rights conditions and its updates all the time.