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A call to decision makers in Egypt
The tragedy of migrant workers aggravates
What did Farag Ragab Mohammed do to arrest him and crash his family?
Farag, a new sample of migrant workers, whose bad luck led him to tension with one of the police officers, who arrested him with another seven citizens, who intended to get out of Egypt by sea, in the trial no.15899 for 2008 felony court in El-burls provinces. The court acquitted Farag on 17/12/2008, but the security department of Kafr El-sheikh had another view; where it had ordered to detain Ragab, after the court decision to release him free. However, the police departments re-restricted his freedom. Although he did submit many appeals against arrest decision, although many court decisions of the National security court declared the absent victim, Farag, to be free, especially the most important appeal, no. 2342, for 2008, dated 10/11/2008, where the decision was declared to free the innocent person, the appeal no. 711 for 2009, and the appeal no. 5304 for 2009, dated on 21/7/2009, where the decisions were declared on those sessions to adhere to the innocence of Farag. Many other appeals were submitted before the court, which declared its decision to free Farag. However, ministry of interiors didn’t act to stop the execution of all these decision. Even more, without any responsibility, it released new decisions to arrest many free citizens, without paying any consideration for the court decisions.
Farag's Father says:" Applying the court decisions and freeing my innocent son became impossibility. The current theory of arrest makes us arrested for unknown times and lives under slavery systems till death. Our sons are arrested, where waiting their appearance again is an impossible thing that I hope to be achieved one day ".
Every day Farag's family and parents are screaming to all officials, so as to make their calls and screams heard by Decision makers, urging them to be merciful to the people and release the arrested persons. Farag's mother says:" My son is sick and has a cut off in his right shoulder, where he needs an apparatus from foreign countries. So how come that he would be able to across the sea by an illegal way, or smuggle other humans to Europe. If the court sends my son free, then who executes these decisions? In addition, for whom we can ask for help after we have made all attempts to get him out and we couldn't succeed?”
1. The center stresses the seriousness of this situation, especially that there are new decisions declared, pertaining to the punishment of the fugitives, who escape from the national prisons. The court of Marsa Matrouh declared the decision of rigorous imprisonment for one year and 1000 pounds, as a fine, for 20 young illegal immigrants. Those young immigrants are from the governorates of Fayoum, El-minya , Assuit , El-behira and El-sharkyya . Their names are Saad Sheweik Ali, 27 years, from El-minya; Omar Fathy Ibrahim, 23 years old, from El-sharkya; Walid Mohammed Abd el-azim, 29 years, from El-minya; Moftah Hussien, 30 years, from El-minya; Akil Ramdan Ali, 42 years, from El-minya; Mohammed Ismail, 21 years, from El-minya; Sayd Salah, 25 years, from El-minya; Khaled Gabreel Abou zeid, 20 years, from El-minya; Ali Abdallah Emad, 21 years, from El-minya; Abd El-hameed Ibrahim Abd El-hameed, 22 years, from Assuit; Abd el-razek Abd el-hady, 23 years, from fayoum; Yehia Ahmed Abd el-rahim, 26 years, from Assuit; Nady Soliman, 25 year, from El-minya; Khamees Deba'a Abdallah, 24 years; Mouse Abd el-rahim, 24 years, Fayoum; Ibrahim Attya Mohammed, 24 years, from Assuit; Mustafa Mohammed, 29 years, from Qena; Hisham Sa'ed, 23 years, from El-behira; Essam Taha Farghalyy, 21 years, from Assuit; Mohammed Abd el-satar, 23 years, from Fayoum. Those young men were arrested during their infiltration, in an illegal way, through the Libyan- Egyptian borders, trying to enter Egypt, coming from Libya, without getting any passport or any documents proving their identity. They went through desert paths, valleys and land mines, which are prohibited to pass through them, reaching the spiny wires across the borders to travel to Italy, through Marsa Matrouh. They were caught, and reversed to the prosecutor, who accused them for their illegal immigration.
Also, the most important issue is that, Ministry of interiors started making up fake cases about drugs, for illegal immigrant workers, in an attempt to save the reputation of the government. The ministry of interiors made up fake cases, about trafficking of heroin to allocate them in Egypt. This new direction of making fake cases for the fishermen and immigrant workers warns us with a crisis about the rights of life and personal safety. This crisis is apparent more by the report of the criminal research of the police station of Kafr El-sheikh, which stated, in its justification for frequently arresting the worker Farag Ghanem, "In the recent times, there is an increasing phenomenon of Gangs that works in illegal immigration, where it misuse the aspiration of youth for traveling abroad. It becomes easy for them to abuse, black mail, con and steal huge amounts of money from them. These Gangs are trying to perform their illegal activities by connecting to the owners of some fishing boats, who are working in the Mediterranean Sea shore “.
This phenomenon exhibits a dangerous criminal nature attributed to those who perform it. Many cautions are crystallized in such activities, such as directing huge amounts of money, of youth’s family’s savings, to those gangs to benefit from them.
The report continues, “Collective sinking incidents, for many youth, are continuing taking place, because they use non-qualified boats. This matter embarrasses the government before its citizens. In addition, it negatively affects the reputation of the government; make it appears as unable to control the water, and make it safe; causing the country to be exposed to international denunciations and recommendations, whether via political, or media channels, criticizing the illegal migration from the Egyptian lands, the implementation of many illegal activities, like facilitating illegal travelling, fraudulent documents papers, inventing and exploiting new ways and means for smuggling. All those consequences proves the dangerous criminality of those who commit the acts, who were not deterred by the regular legal procedures, and continued committing his crimes that led to the outbreak of that phenomenon, and its dissemination, which lead to the exposure of innocent people lives to dangers.
Land center asks, is the citizen Farag; whose leg and arms are cut, and who was declared innocent, from your alleged lies, by the court after submitting before it; is the reason of the international denunciations and blames to your failing government? Is pinching your ears, or biting you by the international organizations, and EU governments, a justification to arrest detain them, arresting them, and not implementing the judiciary decisions?
Land center assures that the reason of the illegal immigration is the deteriorating economical, political, and social circumstances in our country. It stresses also that the only way to stop this phenomenon is the enhancement of the general environment, and implementing alternative and different policies, which could improve people’s lives in Egypt. On the same context, the campaign of the ministry of housing, in cooperation with the Italian government, was sarcastic, and in vain. The slogan of that campaign was “Challenge yourself with your skills, and don’t bitterly challenge the sea.” When we asked the father of the prisoner Farag about his opinion of the campaign, which depends mainly on making citizens aware of the dangers of the illegal immigration; he responded:”Get my son out of prison, you godless people”.
Would the officials hear the calls of the immigrant workers, who were sent free by many court decisions, before the detained persons and their families die from their sadness and despises, and before they die from the provocative failing governmental policies,
The center hopes that the screams of mothers, wives, sons and fathers could be heard by those who control the fates of the poor workers and fishermen, especially Mrs. Minister of housing, and Mrs. Minister of labor force, to release the poor workers and fishermen, so they can enjoy the safety, and freedom of our guarded beloved Egypt.
For more information, please contact the Center