Refugee Platform in Egypt team tried to follow the video clip on the “Tik Tok” app, but the video was deleted, and the last video was posted on the account four days before. The team then contacted some associations and organizations affiliated with refugees, as well as some leaders of African communities in Egypt, however, some people told us that the video is circulating in “Ain Shams”, which is an area where a large number of refugees of different African nationalities reside.

The account that posted this video on TikTok is named “Khaled Lolo”, and here is the link to it: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMe4cPLRM/

The Refugee Platform in Egypt called on the Public Prosecutor and the Minister of Interior to take the necessary legal measures to investigate the incident and arrest the perpetrators.

New updates and information we received yesterday:

After we called on the competent authorities to intervene and take the necessary legal measures against the assaulters and towards protecting the victims and survivors. So far, no official statements have been issued by the Public Prosecution or the Ministry of Interior about the incident, but according to what we have received from direct statements or through public direct broadcast on social media sites, many leaders of the South Sudanese community in Cairo stated the following:

“The child and girls who were attacked are from South Sudan and residing in Egypt, and that the incident took place last Thursday morning, April 29, 2021, in Adam Street, Ain Shams area, towards Al Alf Maskan Square, during the return of the South Sudanese child (K.D) from a party with three girls from his relatives and neighbours – all of them between the ages of fifteen and seventeen – A group of young Egyptians intercepted them with white weapons; one of the girls managed to run away, and the child hid behind one of the cars in the street. The attackers took the two girls to their apartment in one of the buildings, and while the child was crying behind one of the cars parking in the street, a woman saw him from the attackers ’apartment – it is likely that she is the mother of one of the assailants – so she screamed and asked them to also take him to the apartment, and when they forced him to go up, they took turns hitting him and deliberately insulting him by word and deed, as part of it appeared in the video clip that went viral on social media yesterday evening.

The fate of the girls who were accompanied by the child at the time of the incident:

While many wondered about the fate of the two girls who were present during the filmed incident, and what happened to them? Activists reported that “they were subjected to harassment and sexual assaults – they refused to talk about more details – and the woman at the assaulters’ building shaved their heads before throwing them on the streets. Their families refused to communicate with anyone or reveal their identity or what happened with them.”

Arrest of the accused and threatening the abused child’s family by the attackers’ family:

According to what the leaders of the South Sudanese community in Cairo who are following the case said, the security services moved to arrest the accused as soon as the video was posted on social media, and there is unofficial news about arresting some of the assaulters, while one of the assailants, who appeared in the video clip, is still on the run.

A relative of the abused child’s family reported that the security services summoned them to investigate the incident the day before yesterday after the assailants published the video clip on “TikTok” application, and they obtained their full testimony over the course of a day and night. They were later informed of the issuance of an arrest warrant for the suspects, 3 of which were then arrested to stand before the prosecution, and the search for the final one on the run continues. The police informed them of the prosecution’s decision later of a detention order for the arrested suspects for a period of fifteen days pending investigation.

The South Sudanese activist “Michael Christopher” held a broadcast yesterday evening, only to cut it midway, then return later to reveal that the Egyptian ambassador in Juba had called him. He said: {The Egyptian ambassador to Juba told me in a phone call now that three of the assailants had been arrested and brought to the investigation and trial.} He also continued the live broadcast by calling for the publication of investigations on the case and providing more protection for the people of South Sudan in Egypt regarding issues of racism and abuse. And he strongly criticized what he considered to be lethargy from the South Sudanese embassy in Cairo, saying (There, they who work in the embassy, remove all of them from there, you can’t work in the embassy, go back, go back to the grove, and bring people who know how to engage in diplomatic activity).

We also obtained a direct statement from the abused child’s family that “the family of the attackers surrounded the house with thugs after the arrest of the suspects and threatened them, but after the child’s family called the police, they fled.” The family still feels intense fear for their lives in light of the constant threats from the family of the attackers, which forced them to move to another home and remain there due to their adherence to not dropping the submitted complaints to the police.

It is worth noting that this incident was not the first and will not be the last unless the authorities responsible for refugees and security in Egypt take the necessary measures. The incident carries several crimes with it, including beating, insulting, exploitation and torture, as well the crime of enslavement, employment of minors and persecution on the basis of Identity, and defamation by publishing this clip on social media accounts.

This incident brought to mind two incidents of attacks on two Sudanese Childs:

First incident: took place in October 2019 in the case of racist beating and insulting of the South Sudanese student “John” in the “Maadi” area, filming the incident and publishing it proudly. After the video was published on social media, the police forces arrested the assaulters and referred them to the prosecution, and the Egyptian President hosted the Sudanese student – the abused – in one of the youth conferences, then the case ended after that with reconciliation on the part of the victim’s family and the accused were subsequently released, and this incident was a reason for the Egyptian authorities to take a measure praised by workers in the legal and human rights field by adding a definition of bullying and adding a penalty for it in the Egyptian Penal Code.

The second incident: In June 2020, the case of the attack on the Sudanese child “Nael” in the “Imbaba airport” area, “by beating, insulting and theft,” and the video was published on social media, and the child’s family submitted a report to the Attorney General, and on the same day the accused were arrested and transferred to the prosecution and the case ended with reconciling with the family of the abused and the accused were released.

Other crimes of the same shape and kind occur daily against refugees of different nationalities, and people coming from African nationalities bear the worst and biggest result of such crimes.

The most recent case is the assault and group harassment of a Sudanese girl by teenagers in Maadi. This type of case reveals a new pattern of racism and it all shares that (The assaulters are teenagers, their handling of crime is completely comfortable as if it is something they are accustomed to, with no punishment or deterrent, and this is evident in the investigations that are conducted with them. They proudly post the videos on social media – which is the only evidence of indictment against them – all the accidents take place in areas inhabited by long-term refugees/migrants, and if these adolescents do not see what they are doing is a crime, that indicates that they witnessed and watched similar crimes whose perpetrators were not punished)

What is happening raises the alarm bell for a new generation with a new mindset that considers racism – including sexual assaults – normal.

During the past period, we have witnessed a great development in dealing with cases of bullying, racism, and attacks on refugees (in racist incidents and others) on the part of law enforcement agencies in the movement speed, dealing and decision-making with cases that go viral on social media, or by the government with a draft law to amend the law penal code and add an article stating the definition and punishment of bullying. There may still be a long way to go to completely stop racist practices, and it requires a combination of effort greater than legal tracks.

Demands to the concerned authorities:

Returning to this particular incident on the posted video, these statements form accusations of committing serious crimes that should shake the core of our society. Kidnapping, blocking the road, using white weapons, terrorizing the safe, accusations of sexual and physical assaults, committing racist crimes, and broadcasting an inciting video clip. All these matters require immediate and urgent investigation and taking current measures to stop the aggressors and achieve public and private deterrence and act as a warning bell about the need to take future measures to prevent this type of accident from happening again.

We renew our demands to the concerned authorities and invite you to share your voice with us, to immediately intervene, and to disclose the course of the investigation – if the circulating news is correct – as this case threatens the security and safety of society in a real way and hinders the integration between the locals and refugees who are hosted and welcomed by Egypt, and we also demand that real protection be provided for the child and his family, The two girls who were attacked and their families, and the girl who witnessed the incident and was able to flee from the attack.