Turkish/Egyptian doctor faces deportation from Morocco to Egypt

A Turkish-Egyptian dual citizen, Dr. Abdelbaset Abdallah Mohamed al-Imam, was detained upon arrival in Morocco this week and is facing deportation to Egypt, according to a report in Middle East Eye. 

Imam has been sentenced to life in prison for political activism. He fled Egypt in 2016 after receiving threats linked to his social media posts about his son’s death in the 2013 Rabaa massacre, in which the Egyptian military killed around 1,000 protesters calling for the reinstatement of deposed President Mohamed Morsi

Human Rights Watch labeled this event Egypt’s worst civilian mass killing in modern history. Imam’s family reportedly experienced constant harassment, including a security raid on their home. Since then, Imam found temporary refuge in Turkey, where he became a citizen in 2017.

That same year he was reportedly charged in absentia to life in prison for his social media posts and was accused of being a part of the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt has labeled a terrorist organization. 

Imam’s family fears he will face torture if returned to Egypt. Morocco and Egypt’s 2014 extradition treaty complicates his situation, although the UN Convention Against Torture, to which Morocco is a signatory, prohibits deporting individuals to countries where they risk torture.

A recent report from Egyptian human rights organizations highlights how Egyptian authorities have increasingly targeted exiled activists, often placing them in legal jeopardy through international agreements and terrorism charges.