The Refugees Platform in Egypt expresses its deep sadness and anger at the death of forcibly displaced Sudanese teenager Al-Nazir al-Sadiq inside the Badr police station in Cairo governorate. Al-Nazir died after spending 25 days in arbitrary detention in inhumane conditions, despite his clear, formalized legal status. Al-Nazir was a registered asylum seeker with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and was carrying documents substantiating his formal status at the time of his arrest.

While offering our sincere condolences and sympathy to the family of the deceased, RPEGY expresses our commitment to stand in solidarity with the family in their legitimate demands for a fair and transparent investigation into their son’s death, and that Al-Nazir’s death becomes a catalyst for ending violations against forcibly displaced people in Egypt.

Al-Nazir’s family was forced to flee Khartoum in 2023 under the heavy weight of the proxy war’s destabilizing violence, arriving in Egypt as a ‘safe haven’ in search of security and international protection. The family settled in Cairo in October 2024, registered with the UNHCR, and adhered to their allocated schedule for registration and documentation with the relevant Egyptian authorities.

Al-Nazir was a ninth-grade student in Khartoum before his forced displacement, a teenager who had not reached the age of maturity of 18. Al-Nazir was carrying his UNHCR card and documents proving his legal status in Egypt in his pocket as he was standing with his friends in front of his residence in Cairo on January 18th, 2026. According to his family’s testimony, Al-Nazir was arrested by the police without any charges being brought or a warrant being presented outside his residence on January 18th.

According to Al-Nazir’s family, he did not ‘violate the terms of his residence’ and did not attempt to evade arrest or hide his papers. At the time, Al-Nazir was already carrying his valid UNHCR card and legal status document. Nevertheless, Al-Nazir was taken to the Badr police station where he was arbitrarily detained which then led to his death, instead of being granted the protection he was entitled to under international law and Law No. 164 of 2024 on the asylum of foreigners.

His family’s testimony indicate that Al-Nazir was not detained in a typical enclosed cell, but in an open courtyard outside the prison’s buildings where Al-Nazir succumbed to the winter cold as he was not given thick clothing, blankets, or adequate bedding in inhumane conditions that consisted of no heating, food, or adequate drinking water. All of which falls completely short of the minimum humanitarian standards required of carceral environments.

Al-Nazir’s family adds that he was detained with legal adults over the age of 18, including defendants in criminal cases, which is in clear violation of the rules surrounding the treatment of children in the Child Law and within Egypt’s international obligations. All these mandates collectively and individually prohibit the detention of children alongside adults and require that children be treated in a manner befitting their minor status, dependency, and needs. 

During his mother’s weekly visits, on the Friday before Al-Nazir’s death, she noticed that he looked unwell and was complaining of chest pains due to the cold. Al-Nazir asked her to bring him antibiotics on her next visit. His family confirms that Al-Nazir developed pneumonia as a result of the cold, substandard conditions in detention.

About a day after that Friday visit, the family received a call from the police informing them of Al-Nazir’s death and that he had been transferred to Badr Hospital and then to the Zeinhom morgue. Al-Nazir’s family were asked to go to the public prosecutor’s office to complete the burial procedures and receive the body, without providing a clear explanation for the cause of Al-Nazir’s death or giving his family a tangible opportunity to follow up on Al-Nazir’s health conditions before his health deteriorated.

The autopsy was performed without the family’s knowledge or the presence of representatives of the family or their legal defense team. Official dealings were limited to the procedures for handing over Al-Nazir’s deceased body, conducted between the embassy, the medical clinic, and the prosecutor’s office. These measures were all carried out without the opening of a thorough and transparent investigation into the circumstances of Al-Nazir’s detention, potential signs of mistreatment, and medical negligence. The amalgamation of which constitutes several violations of the state’s obligation to investigate immediately and effectively any death that occurs while the deceased was in custody.

Al-Nazir’s family testifies that the grief over the loss their teenaged boy Al-Nazir is accompanied by daily fear; Al-Nazir’s older brother is too afraid to leave the house anymore, fearing a repeat of the scenario his younger brother endured after being arbitrarily arrested on the street and detained. Moreover, Al-Nazir’s family even hesitated to go to the Zeinhom morgue to say their final goodbyes to their son, fearing that their mourning would turn into another tragedy of further arbitrary detention by the authorities.

One family member emphasizes that Al-Nazir was ‘a child, regardless of his citizenship or legal status’, and that he had the right to safety, dignity, and protection under international law. The least Al-Nazir’s family asks for today is an independent and transparent investigation that answers two simple questions: Why was Al-Nazir detained? And, how did Al-Nazir die?

A tragedy that is part of a wider pattern: the death of Mubarak Qamar al-Din Majzoub Abdullah and a broader crackdown on forcibly displaced Sudanese citizens

Al-Nazir’s death is not an isolated incident. On February 5th, an elderly, forcibly displaced Sudanese citizen named Mubarak Qamar al-Din Majzoub Abdullah, 67, died inside the Shorouk police station after 9 days of arbitrary detention as part of an expanded security campaign targeting refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants in Egypt in recent months that began conspicuously escalating at the end of 2025.

Mubarak held a valid asylum seeker card issued by the UNHCR in October 2025 that expires in April 2027. Additionally, Mubarak was in possession of documented evidence that he had applied for a residence permit, including a reference number from the Foreign Affairs Ministry and a specific appointment date set for September 2nd, 2027. As a result, Mubarak’s legal status was not only clear and well established but his arrest and treatment as a residence lawbreaker consequently lacked any legal justification. 

Mubarak’s arrest was documented while he was shopping for household supplies, in a recurring pattern of targeting forcibly displaced people on the street and in the vicinity of their residences without judicial orders, which is in violation of Article 54 of the Egyptian Constitution that requires a judicial order with cause to restrict freedom and that the person must be informed of the reasons for their arrest and allowed to contact their family and lawyer immediately. 

According to testimonies from Mubarak’s family and human rights reports, Mubarak was detained in the Shorouk police station in overcrowded conditions, without adequate sleeping space or ventilation, and was denied medical care despite glaring signs of Mubarak’s health deteriorating. Mubarak’s family was not immediately notified of his arbitrary arrest and detention or his deteriorating health condition, nor was Mubarak given the opportunity to be transferred to a suitable hospital in a timely manner.

Systematic Pattern: The collapse of the protection process has left forcibly displaced people in dangerous conditions with no safe haven

Nour Khalil, RPEGY’s Executive Director, confirmed that the deaths of Al-Nazir and Mubarak came amid what RPEGY documented in terms of a marked increase in campaigns of arbitrary arrest, detention, and deportation against forcibly displaced people during 2024 and 2025. These incidents occurred at crossing points and borders to the heart of major cities (Greater Cairo, Alexandria, Matrouh), and even targeted those who hold valid UNHCR cards or who have registration or renewal appointments set in the near future.

According to several joint investigations and reports, including “The Collapse of Egypt’s Protection for Refugees” published by the Refugees Platform in Egypt (RPEGY) and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), hundreds of forcibly displaced Sudanese citizens were detained between April and August 2025 in various areas, and at least 1,500 people were detained and subsequently deported since August. This took place as part of an escalating trend that coincided with an increase in the security cooperation agreement with the European Union.

These reports document a recurring pattern of confiscating valid UNHCR cards, disregarding formal refugee status, and falsifying detained people’s files to portray them as people apprehended near the border without proper documentation. This recurring pattern allows for the execution of forced deportation procedures, in a blatant violation of the principle of non-refoulement and the fundamental procedural guarantees that ensure the right to an effective legal review before any removal procedure.

RPEGY’s Executive Director confirmed that the deaths of Al-Nazir and Mubarak cannot be treated as isolated cases, but rather as part of a broader policy that uses deprivation of liberty, poor detention conditions, and medical neglect as tools to pressure forcibly displaced Sudanese citizens into ‘voluntarily’ returning. A recent protocol which, under the new asylum law (164 of 2024), was vehemently criticized by international and local organizations for failing to effectively guarantee the principle of non-refoulement and the rights of asylum seekers. 

Legal and human rights violations in the cases of Al-Nazir and Mubarak

The Refugees Platform in Egypt believes that these pertinent details reveal a series of grave violations, including: 

• Arbitrary Arrest and Detention: The arrest of two individuals carrying valid UNHCR documents and official residence/set appointment documents, in public, on the street, and from the vicinity of their residence, without valid judicial orders or clear charges, violates the Egyptian Constitution (Article 54) and meets the definition of arbitrary arrest according to international standards.
• Violation of Child Protection Guarantees: Detaining Al-Nazir, a teenager under the age of 18, for 25 days in an open area exposed to the elements, alongside adults over the age of 18 accused of criminal offenses, and without providing adequate health care violates the Child Law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which stipulate that detention should only be used as a last resort and for the shortest possible period under conditions that are humane and appropriate for minors.
• Mistreatment and Inhumane Conditions: Detaining Al-Nazir in a ‘courtyard’, an open area exposed to the elements in the cold, without thick clothing, blankets or adequate food and detaining Mubarak in an overcrowded cell lacking ventilation, a sleeping area, and medical care constitute cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment, in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture, and the Egyptian Constitution that explicitly insist that detained people be held in areas that are hygienic and humane. 
• Deliberately Disregarding Right to Life and the Right to Health: The death of two people in official detention facilities, despite prior indications of their deteriorating health and a lack of a timely response, demonstrates gross and purposeful negligence in the state’s affirmative obligation to protect the lives of detained people and ensure their access to emergency health care.
• Violation of the Family’s Right to Facts and Justice: The autopsy of Al-Nazir’s body being conducted without his family’s knowledge or involvement, a lack of transparency in the release of Al-Nazir’s forensic reports, and the absence of a public investigation into the circumstances of Al-Nazir and Mubarak’s deaths violate the state’s obligations to conduct prompt and effective investigations into any and all deaths in custody, as enshrined in United Nations reports and mechanisms.

Refugees Platform in Egypt: This Must Stop Now

Based on the above, RPEGY demands the following:

• To the Egyptian Public Prosecutor’s Office:

• Open an urgent, in-depth, and transparent criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary arrest, detention, and unnecessary deaths of Al-Nazir al-Sadiq inside the Badr police station and Mubarak Qamar al-Din Majzoub Abdullah inside the Shorouk police station that includes judicial hearing statements from their families, witnesses, and detained people as well as the examination of police station records, surveillance cameras, medical files, and forensic reports.
• Announce the results of the investigation within a clear timeframe to the public, referring anyone proven to be involved in torture, mistreatment, gross medical negligence, or cover-ups to trial while guaranteeing both families complete access to the full results of the investigation.
• Open a broader investigation into the pattern of detention of forcibly displaced Sudanese citizens, including children and the elderly, in police stations and detention centers, and the extent to which these practices comply with Foreigners’ Asylum Law No. 164 of 2024 and international conventions ratified by Egypt.
• Execute the responsibility of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in monitoring police stations and detention centers, and in monitoring the conditions of detention and the legality of detention effectively.

• To the Egyptian Interior Ministry:

• Stop the arbitrary arrest and detention of forcibly displaced people, and stop targeting people in public, on the streets as well as in front of their homes, based on their skin color, appearance, or citizenship, including those with UNHCR documents.
• Prohibit the detention of minors alongside adults in all designated detention areas and ensure age-restricted, designated detention areas have humane conditions for children, including heating, blankets, adequate food, and health care, in accordance with the Child Law and international conventions.
• Improve detention conditions in all police stations and detention centers, and ensure that clear protocols are put in place for dealing with medical emergencies including prompt referral to appropriate hospitals and services as well as ensuring immediate notification of families in emergency medical situations.
• Effectively allow human rights organizations and independent entities to visit places of detention, including police stations, to monitor the conditions of detained people as well as forcibly displaced people to verify compliance with legal and humanitarian standards.

• To the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR):

• Implement established responsibilities to protect refugees and asylum seekers registered with the organization in Egypt, and formally follow up on the cases of Al-Nazir and Mubarak with the Egyptian authorities and consider their cases indicative of the risks faced by refugees and asylum seekers registered with the organization.
• Strengthen systems for monitoring and documenting violations (detention, deportation, confiscation of cards, denial of protection) and refer these violations to relevant UN bodies such as the Special Rapporteur on Torture, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the Special Rapporteur on Racism.
• Advocate for the harmonization of the application of Law No. 164 of 2024 on the asylum of foreigners with Egypt’s international obligations, and ensure that the law is not used to justify arbitrary detention or mass forced deportation of forcibly displaced Sudanese citizens fleeing the proxy war.

• To the United Nations, the European Union, and international organizations:

• Request that the Egyptian government provide official explanations for these unnecessary deaths and the escalating pattern of violations against forcibly displaced people, specifically Sudanese citizens, and publicly publish accessible follow-up documents, including within the Human Rights Council and their relevant operating bodies.
• Connect any financial or technical support, security agreement or cooperation provided in the area of migration and borders with the Egyptian authorities to concrete guarantees that end arbitrary detention and forced deportation, investigate violations, and respect the principle of non-refoulement.

This Must Stop Now

What happened to Al-Nazir al-Sadiq and Mubarak Qamar al-Din Majzoub Abdullah was not an ‘accidental incident’ or an ‘individual mistake’, but rather a direct result of policies and practices that have made forcibly displaced people targets for arrest, detention, and deportation, even when they carry valid UNHCR cards or explicit legal documents.

The Refugee Platform in Egypt affirms that the lives of forcibly displaced people are not disposable, and that the life of a teenager fleeing a proxy war should not end in an ‘open yard’ at a police station, nor should an elderly person breathe their last breath in an overcrowded prison without medical care. This must stop now, through sincere and consistent political and judicial will for accountability, effective international pressure, and significant action by the UNHCR and all relevant bodies, so that the tragedy of Al-Nazir and Mubarak do not become another chapter in a long series of impunity.

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