BEIRUT: Egypt government unlawfully expelled two Syrian refugees back to the war-ravaged country last week, and two Palestinians from Syria now risk being deported, the watchdog Human Rights Watch said yesterday.
A Palestinian man and his son currently being held at Cairo airport were apparently refused entry to Egypt and would face “indiscriminate violence and possible persecution if returned to Syria,” the New York-based group said.
“Egypt may have a right to detain people temporarily or investigate them on grounds of false documentation, but it may not under any circumstance return them to Syria,” said Bill Frelick, Refugee Programme director at HRW.
“Egypt is obligated under international law not to return anyone, regardless of status, to a place where they would be persecuted.”
AFP
