Category: Forced disappearances
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Silenced in Custody: The Death of Sayed Mohamed Almosawi and the Urgent Call for Accountability
The case of Sayed Mohamed Almosawi, who is reportedly subjected to enforced disappearance and torture, points not to an abstract debate but to a deeply troubling sequence of concrete events. According to accounts from witnesses and relatives, he was taken into custody by security forces, after which his whereabouts remained unknown for an extended period,…
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Enforced Disappearance and Reported Death of Humphrey Polepole in Tanzania
Humphrey Polepole, former Tanzanian Ambassador to Cuba and an outspoken government critic, was reportedly abducted in Dar es Salaam on 6 October 2025 by unidentified security personnel. According to reporting by The Africa Report, sources later indicated that he is dead, though circumstances surrounding his alleged death remain unclear and officially unconfirmed. His disappearance occurred…
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Arbitrary Detention and Human Rights Violations Against Oqba Hashad in Egypt
Oqba Alaa Labib Hashad, a 27-year-old Egyptian student, has been subjected to severe human rights violations by Egyptian security and judicial authorities since his arrest on 20 May 2019. His detention stems solely from his familial connection to his brother, Amr Hashad, a recognised human rights defender now living in exile. Egyptian National Security Agency…
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The Enforced Disappearance of Abdulrahman Yusuf al-Qaradawi: A Call for Justice and Transparency
Abdulrahman Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a 55-year-old Egyptian-Turkish poet and political activist, has been subjected to enforced disappearance since his extradition to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on January 8, 2025. Initially arrested by Lebanese security forces on December 28, 2024, at the Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, his detention was reportedly based on a…
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Review of Turkey’s Human Rights Record
Regarding the UN Human Rights Committee Review Session in Geneva, November 2024 The UN Human Rights Committee reviewed Turkey’s human rights record in Geneva in November 2024. Rights Defenders Initiative attended the session with a representative and had the privilege to give a speech to the Committee based on the report they prepared and submitted.…
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Abduction and Forced Return of Turkish Asylum Seekers from Kenya
On October 18, 2024, seven Turkish asylum seekers were abducted in Nairobi, Kenya by unidentified individuals. The people kidnapped were identified as Mustafa Genç, Abdullah Genç, Hüseyin Yeşilsu, Necdet Seyitoğlu, Öztürk Uzun, Alparslan Taşçı, and Saadet Taşçı. These individuals were registered refugees in Kenya and believed to be followers of the Gülen movement, a significant…
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Forced disappearances in Turkey
The human rights violations have been taking place in Turkey against a large number of innocent people. The situation is extremely alarming and requires the attention of the international community to bring an end to this humanitarian crisis. There are wide range of human rights violations, such as extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, torture,…