London-based international human rights watchdog Amnesty International (AI) has accused Egyptian security forces of killing 19 sub-Saharan migrants in January 2008.
According to AI, the killings brought to 25 the total number of sub-Saharan migrants killed by Egyptian security forces since the middle of last year, in their (migrants) attempt to enter Israel through Egypt.
AI said that more than 1,300 civilians were tried by a military tribunal for ”attempting to leave Egypt through its Eastern border with Israel”.
”To date, no one had been allowed to talk to representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (HCR) in Egypt, while they were considered as refugees or asylum seekers who need international protection,” AI said in a statement issued in Paris, France, Wednesday.
Last June, Egypt repatriated some 1,200 Eritrean nationals to their country, after detaining most of them in military training camps in Wia.
AI called on Egyptian authorities to order the security forces not to use weapons, except in case of absolute necessity, and to stop bringing migrants before the military tribunals.
AI also called for the end of forced repatriation of Eritreans as well as any expulsion of persons to countries where they might be victims of human rights abuses.
