Cairo September 14^th ,2010

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information strongly denounces the abduction of  Dr. Shadi Tarek AlGhazaly Harb , the activist in Democratic Front Party and assistant professor at Cairo Uni. ,Faculty of Medicine. Shadi disappeared in Cairo airport this morning at 7:00 am.

Shadi, nephew of Osama AlGhazali Harb, Chairman of the Democratic Front Party  arrived at Cairo airport at 6:00 am this morning to catch the British airways plane of 8:30 am. He was to sit for the surgery fellowship exam in  England on Thursday and Friday September 17^th and 18^th . While finishing  his travel papers , he got arrested by an unknown security authority  and was escorted to an unknown location.

Shadi is one of the activists and advocates of democracy and a member of the Democratic Front Party . He was supposed to be on the plane to England to sit for a surgery fellowship exam.  This incident of abduction probably wasted his chance to get to England on time and could readily risk his professional career if his fate was not revealed and if he was not released soon enough to make it for the fellowship exam. The Egyptian government should not stand between him and such a distinguished degree.

This incident is not first in this week , Amr Salah , researcher at Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies was abducted on 9/9/2010 and the activist Ahmed Eid  disappeared on 10/9/2010  marking the first day of Eid AlFitr.  Both were charged of nothing and were not referred to prosecution and the reason for abduction was not declared. It is to be noted that both are members of the Democratic Front Party . Despite the prompt response to the calls for their release , yet it is has become a big risk for activists especially that their disappearance occurs in vague circumstances without declaring which authority arrested them or their detention locations which makes them prone to enforced disappearance.

The Arabic Network said,” Frequent disappearance of activists in lately without any comment from the ministry of interior and with the doubted silence of the prosecution and reluctance to investigate the perpetuators clearly points to an authority beyond SSI standing behind this phenomenon of activists’ disappearance”.

While the Arabic Network expresses extreme worry of the increasing trend of abduction of Egyptian citizens in vague conditions, the Network assumes it is of utmost necessity that the Egyptian government would clearly declare the reason of abducting callers of democratic reform and illegally detaining them and what authority is behind those assaults.  Otherwise, Egyptian will be liable to disappear for good and it will not be difficult to illegally punish them for enjoying their right to express and participate , without knowing which authority is responsible.