Human rights organizations demanded that Morocco not hand over an Egyptian dissident to his country’s authorities because of “the risks he might be exposed to,” according to them, because he was sentenced to life imprisonment for his opposition to the regime of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
According to the Moroccan Authority to Support Political Prisoners (HM), the Moroccan authorities arrested, on Sunday, the Egyptian dissident Abdel Basset Al-Imam at Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca, according to an extradition request issued by the Egyptian authorities.
Hmm said that handing him over to Egypt “is a measure that poses a real threat to his safety, conflicts with Morocco’s legal and humanitarian obligations, and may lead to a violation of his basic rights.”
She warned of “the dire consequences for his personal security,” given “the documented violations in similar cases, and the oppression and persecution suffered by those holding opposition opinions in Egypt,” and called on Morocco to “respect its international obligations,” as she put it.
The international organization “Ifdi” from Belgium, and the “Adalah” Foundation for Human Rights from Istanbul, also called on the Moroccan authorities to release the imam who entered Casablanca airport with a Turkish passport for the purpose of tourism.
The two organizations said that the Moroccan authorities are required to either allow him to enter their territory, or to return to the country of Türkiye, of which he holds citizenship.
The two human rights organizations said that they had written to several international bodies to demand “urgent intervention and action” in order to “save” Abdel Basset Al-Imam from “facing the risk of torture” if he was deported to Egypt.
Abdel Basset Al-Imam worked as a professor at the Faculty of Medicine at Al-Azhar University. He is considered an opponent of the Sisi regime, and participated in the Arab Spring among other opponents.
Morocco
