Israel: Court Should Halt Forced Returns of Migrants to Egypt

Israel's policy of summary return makes it complicit with Egypt's serious rights violations, Human Rights Watch said. The Israeli High Court of Justice, which has consistently refused to order a halt to the policy, will hear a petition against the policy on December 13, 2009.

"Egypt is seriously violating migrants' rights and Israel becomes complicit in those abuses when it forces migrants and asylum seekers back into Egyptian custody," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "The High Court should order the government not to use forcible returns in these circumstances as a migration control measure."

Israel forcibly returned 217 migrants to Egypt between January and August under its "hot returns" policy, which authorizes Israeli soldiers stationed along the border with Egypt to return migrants to Egyptian authorities within 24 hours of apprehending them. Egypt typically detains the migrants who are forcibly returned and sentences them in military courts to one-year jail terms, regardless of whether they had already registered as refugees through the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Egypt also refuses to allow the UN refugee agency access to the refugees and asylum seekers, in violation of international refugee law.

Read More