Saudi Arabia to soon expel Egyptian activist who faces life in prison

An activist awaiting deportation from Saudi Arabia to Egypt, where he faces life in prison, has been informed that he will soon be extradited.

Ahmed Kamel was sentenced in absentia to 25 years in prison for his role in Egypt’s pro-democracy protests in 2011 and 2014. Rights groups have warned that Kamel is at high risk of being tortured. he was extradited.

After being arrested for his involvement in the 2014 protests, Kamel was released on bail and fled to Saudi Arabia. Since then, he has lived in Jeddah.

Kamel was arrested by Saudi authorities on November 12 this year, when he was informed that he faced extradition to Egypt following a “red notice” issued by Interpol in response to a request from Egypt.

“Red Notices” are requests filed by Interpol member states asking law enforcement agencies in other member states to locate and provisionally arrest wanted persons. Member States decide whether to act on a red notice in accordance with their own legislation.

After Kamel’s lawyer took the matter to the prosecutor, the case was passed to the Royal Court, the king’s main office, which confirmed his extradition.

The court also ordered the detention of his wife, Sherryne Grace Badaoui, a US citizen, and their two children pending deportation to the United States.

“We are in a scary place where anything can happen. No one has given us any dates on which the eviction could take place,” she said.

On Thursday, Badaoui learned that the Interior Ministry had issued a “final exit visa” to Kamel.

According to Badaoui, Kamel, who was detained at the Shumaisi immigration detention center, was transferred to the southern Jeddah police station on December 2 after refusing to sign a document waiving responsibility for Badaoui and his children. He was then transferred to the detention center to be fingerprinted on Wednesday.

Badaoui told MEE that Saudi authorities were working to sever Kamel’s ties with the kingdom, after successfully transferring ownership of his car to his sponsor.

No red notice

Kamel was initially informed by Saudi authorities that the extradition order had come via a “red notice” issued by Interpol in response to a request from Egypt.

But neither Kamel nor his family have seen the official documents relating to the notice.

According to MENA Rights Group, one of the groups that issued a statement calling for Kamel’s release, no red notice was issued by Interpol.

According to Tanya Bulakovsky, human rights officer at MENA Rights Group, the order could have been issued by another body, such as the Council of Arab Interior Ministers (AIMC), a regional body that can also facilitate extraditions.

“In each Arab League country there is a national office that is usually responsible for disseminating Interpol Red Notices, but often it is the same office that can also disseminate… extradition requests from the AIMC,” Bulakovsky told MEE. “So it could be the AIMC, or it could be bilateral extradition agreements. We’re not sure exactly.

According to Bulakovsky, MENA Rights Group has noted increasing collaboration between UN entities and the AIMC in recent years, as well as collaboration between the Egyptian Public Prosecutor’s Office and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.