The Alpine Saga of a Missing Egyptian Refugee
Ballad of a Fugitive:
“He wanted, you see, to claim political asylum, first in Italy and then in Switzerland. He holds a PhD in law from Rome University. He used to run the police insurance fund and was head of the interior ministry's legal department….But he was furious at Egyptian government corruption, nepotism, fraudulent charges against Egyptian journalists, torture in Egyptian jails, human rights abuses – even the unfair treatment of Christian Coptic Egyptians when they wanted to build a church in majority Muslim Egypt. Can you ask Amnesty for help, he pleaded with me?.......
"The UN became involved and demanded to know from the Swiss authorities where he was. I can reveal that he is in the Champ-Dollon prison in Geneva, that he was placed there by the Chambre d'accusation of the canton of Geneva on 12 March 2007, and that he is still there to this day. No charges, it seems……
"The Swiss asked the Germans to stamp Jewish-German passports with a J so they could be turned round at the border when they sought refuge. Indeed, they even had a Swiss Red Cross team treating German troops on the eastern front …..Why on earth is el-Ghanem being held? When I met him in Cairo, he was campaigning for Christian Copts to have equal rights with Muslims……”
Cheers and Ramadan Kareem
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