“We welcome the announced withdrawal of a number of charges from the Interpol Red notice for Sayed Abdellatif,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.
“But this is just the first step for justice for Sayed. We look forward to the withdrawal of all the charges. We are urging the Immigration Minister to immediately allow Sayed and his family to make applications for refugee status – the persecution they have faced at the hands of the Egyptian government is now plain for all to see.
“There is no substance to the remaining charge of ‘membership of an illegally-formed extremist group’. Like the other charges, this was the result of a show-trial conducted by a military court under the Mubarak regime; a trial much-condemned because of the use of torture and other human rights abuses.
“There is no evidence that the charge of “forging travel documents” even exists. It was never a part of the original trial. It is one more fabrication on the part of the Egyptian authorities.
“There needs to be an inquiry into the conduct of the AFP to explain why it leaked misinformation and continued to push that misinformation into the public arena despite having evidence that contradicted the Red Notice many months ago.
“It is absurd that Sayed would be prevented from making a protection application any longer because of the remaining content of a discredited Red Notice. There are obvious questions surrounding the bona fides over the Red Notice. Both recent Egyptian regimes have a history of using Red Notices for political purposes.
“Sayed has been a victim of a military court in Egypt and now he is the victim of a kangaroo court and trial by media waged by the AFP and Coalition politicians. Justice delayed, is justice denied; Sayed has been waiting a year to have his protection claims properly considered. The least the Immigration Minister can do is end the delay and allow Sayed’s protection claims to be heard.”
For more information, contact Ian Rintoul mob 0417 275 713.
