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Detention in Egyptian law is divided into two types:
Judicial detention, applied by court order as a result of a charge punishable by imprisonment or as a precautionary measure known as pretrial detention.
Administrative detention, carried out for immigration-related reasons, and often justified on the grounds of preparing individuals for deportation.
Egyptian law does not include provisions for the detention of migrants or asylum seekers based on seeking asylum. However, asylum seekers, refugees and migrants are detained based on charges related to irregular migration, irregularities related to residence or criminal charges. The detention of refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt remains a legal and humanitarian concern, reflecting a gap between national law and Egypt’s international obligations under instruments such as the 1951 Refugee Convention. Although the Egyptian Constitution and national laws guarantee basic rights, including protection from arbitrary detention and the right to seek asylum, actual practice reveals significant shortcomings in upholding these rights. Both internal and published reports have recorded the detention and deportation of more than 22,000 refugees, and prima facie refugees after entering Egyptian territory.[1] The Refugee Platform in Egypt documented the deportation of 1,000 prima facie refugees and refugees registered with UNHCR, mostly Sudanese, following charges of irregular entry, despite having been released by the prosecution. They were all deported to conflict zones.
In a number of cases, prima facie refugees and migrants have been detained without due process, particularly during mass arrests or when attempting to cross Egypt’s southern or maritime borders irregularly. The authorities often proceed these detentions without formal charges or presenting individuals to the Public Prosecution, which according to Article 36 of the Egyptian Criminal Procedure Code, authorities are required to bring any arrested person before the prosecution within 24 hours.[2]
In cases where courts issue release orders, acquittals, or sentences are served, release may not always be granted, but remains at the discretion of the security authorities, who may issue deportation orders without providing access to appeal mechanisms. This poses a violation of the right to due process and other safeguards guaranteed under Egyptian law and international conventions.[3]
The Refugee Platform in Egypt documented a series of wide-scale and systematic arrest campaigns targeting refugees and asylum seekers, most recently in January, when security forces focused on individuals with darker skin tones in high-density refugee/ migrants areas in Greater Cairo.[4] Many were forced to sign “voluntary return” statements and were asked to book tickets to Port Sudan or were returned overland through the Arqin crossing. The RPE also documented the detention of an elderly Sudanese woman at Cairo Airport upon her return from Saudi Arabia, where security authorities informed her that a deportation order had been issued against her.
In the Aswan area, near the southern borders, the authorities arrested dozens of Sudanese nationals, including registered refugees holding valid residence permits and others with pending registration appointments with UNHCR. Detainees were held in the Aswan First Police Station in poor and inhumane conditions, according to testimonies from detainees and verified visual evidence. This included the detention of children, women, and older individuals, some of whom were later forcibly deported via the Arqin border, as confirmed by a deportee.
[1] The Global Detention Project | Egypt Immigration Detention Profile, available here
[2] Amnesty International, ‘Egypt: Authorities must end campaign of mass arrests and forced returns of Sudanese refugees’, June 2024, available here
[3] The Refugee Platform in Egypt, ‘Security agencies continue to recycle victims of immigration cases’, April 2022, available here
[4] The Refugees Platform in Egypt, ‘“The Egyptian authorities must implement what they say they are committed to’, January 2025, available here