Egyptian dissidents fleeing war in Sudan raise alarm over deportations to homeland
When Mahmoud Abeed left Egypt in 2018, he thought he would finally be safe in Sudan’s capital Khartoum.
The 29-year-old fled Egypt in 2013, after participating in protests against a coup led by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi that ousted the then president Mohammed Morsi.
After seeing his colleagues and friends get arrested in the crackdown on protesters, and hearing of a friend die after being tortured in a detention centre, he decided to flee to neighbouring Sudan, despite not having a passport.
However, Abeed was forced to uproot his life again in April this year, when armed conflict broke out in Sudan.
Now, the activist is just one of many exiled dissidents who feel that their life is under threat and that they could be deported back to Egypt, where they face life imprisonment.
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Fear of being deported
While living in Sudan, Abeed was able to work in agriculture and had established his own business.
He had established himself, and started to feel a sense of security, but the vicious war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) left him feeling unsafe and at risk of being killed in the fighting.
“Myself and everyone around me were terrified, I was confined to my home and couldn’t leave,” he told Middle East Eye.
Entire neighbourhoods in Sudan’s capital Khartoum have been destroyed, and over 2.2 million people have been forced out of their homes. Around 528,000 people have sought refuge in neighbouring countries, many of them needing humanitarian assistance.
Scared and living amidst constant violence, Abeed decided to get in contact with a person who offered to obtain his passport from Egypt through the Egyptian embassy abroad, after paying him a large amount.
“After getting my passport, I went to the capital of South Sudan, and from there had a layover in Istanbul and finally arrived in Muscat, Oman on 10 July,” he explained.
According to Ameed, he was detained by Omani immigration authorities and interrogated for four days.
“They told me my passport was fake and that they would deport me to Egypt. I asked them to deport me anywhere but Egypt.”
Abeed was later deported to Istanbul, Turkey, where he went live on Facebook. In the video published on 16 July, a distraught Abeed recounts what happened to him, reaffirming that his passport was legitimate and that he could face extreme consequences if sent back to Egypt.
“Over there [in Egypt] I would have been dead, and here [in Sudan] I’d be dead, so what shall I do?”
“I am asking anyone watching this to get in contact with the Egyptian embassy to let them know that my passport is not fake. I am just someone who wanted to escape from a country where there is war,” he added.
Life imprisonment
After fleeding to Sudan in 2018, Abeed was sentenced to life in absentia in Egypt, but was unable to determine the exact charges against him.
Now, he says, he has been sent on a flight to Turkey, but is still worried about being deported to Egypt.
“I have told both Omani and Turkish authorities that my life is at risk if I am sent to Egypt. I won’t leave until I’m assured that I won’t be sent back to Egypt,” he says.
Abeed is one of many Egyptians in Sudan who are now stuck in the country with no safe exit route, particularly those who were forced out of Egypt with no proper or official documentation.
Many Egyptians in Sudan say they are afraid to go out into the streets due to fear of being arrested or targeted, especially because of Egypt's support of the Sudan Armed Forces.
Climate of fear
According to MEE’s source in Sudan, the country has seen a rise in dissidents fleeing Egypt in recent years due to a climate of fear and the threat of being imprisoned for expressing their views.
Many dissidents argue that Sudan has long been a safe haven for those fleeing from security forces in Egypt.
“During the Bashir era, there was some sympathy with Egyptian opposition and help was provided for them… the Sudanese government didn’t ask dissidents to legalise their status in the country which also made things easier,” one dissident, who wishes to remain unnamed, explained.
“Even if someone were to be imprisoned in Sudan, detention facilities are much cleaner and the conditions are better than in Egypt. There are clean toilets, the provision of meals and beds,” another said.
Now, many dissidents residing in Sudan say that the conflict has put them in a vulnerable position, and puts them at further risk.
“Many dissidents are living in poor conditions now, especially since there is looting and a lack of public services. Many are also unable to travel because they are included on Egyptian terror lists,” another Egyptian dissident said.
Egyptian dissidents in Sudan are also worried due to the number of people going missing during the conflict, with their whereabouts unknown. For them, this means that the risk of being handed over to Egyptian security forces is even higher.
Nader Fotoh, the head of the press office for the Association of Egyptians in Turkey, says that the current escalation in Sudan has caused significant issues for Egyptian exiles and dissidents.
“These people are currently stranded with no safe place to go,” he told MEE.
“Immigration policies in Turkey mean that anyone who does not have the legal right to stay, not just Egyptians, are detained."
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