About The Case
As a result of the 2013 military coup in Egypt, thousands of Egyptian nationals have sought refugee status in countries throughout the world. Among those seeking asylum are political activists, opposition figures, journalists, and human rights advocates. In the past several years, hundreds of people have come to Canada, many of them were members of different political parties, and some held various roles in the country’s first democratically elected government and Parliament. Some of these individuals were members of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and the Muslim Brotherhood (MB).
The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) has approved refugee claims for the majority of Egyptians who arrived across the country. However, since 2017 the CBSA in Vancouver has taken a position that Egyptian refugees associated with the FJP or MB should be inadmissible to Canada under Section 34(1)(f) of the Immigration Act. The CBSA has suspended the refugee claims of 5 families. The cases presented by the CBSA are tainted with Islamophobia and heavily rely on far-right sources, unreliable information, and Egyptian state-sponsored propaganda to justify the military coup.
Media Coverage
4000+ Egyptians accepted
5 Families facing deportation
1 Refugee facing deportation
No allegation of personal wrongdoing
Tainted by Islamophobia
Protestors accuse Vancouver CBSA office of Islamophobia in handling cases of Egyptian families
City News - Asylum seekers from Egypt who’ve been living in Metro Vancouver for years, say one Canadian Border Services Agency agent has denied all their refugee requests because of Islamophobic views. Attia Elserafy is part of one of five families who say a CBSA...
A protest against a brutal regime
The Imprisoned Blogger - People gathered on the streets protesting discrimination by a regime that has violated every human right you could conjure in your mind. They held signs to stop government actions towards some of those who were in the protesting crowd. These...
New human-rights campaign targets Canadian practice of holding some asylum seekers in jails
The Globe and Mail - Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are launching a campaign urging Canadian provinces to cancel arrangements with the federal government that let them detain asylum seekers and refugee claimants in provincial jails. The national...
Canada: Stop Incarcerating Immigration Detainees in Provincial Jails
Human Rights Watch (Ottawa) – Provincial governments should sever their contracts to hold immigration detainees in provincial jails, where many experience abusive conditions, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today in opening a joint national...
‘Immigration detention should gradually be abolished in Canada’: Report reveals stories of locked-up migrants
Toronto Star - The number of people being held in detention in Canada over immigration violations — including those with mental health issues and including young children — has continued to grow, despite the federal government’s promise to detain migrants only as a...
Activist’s deportation case adds to increased calls for oversight of border services
CBC - An Egyptian human rights activist is fighting to stay in Vancouver, saying the political affiliations that forced him to seek asylum in Canada are now being used to justify his deportation. In 2011, Abdelrahman Elmady joined other Egyptians in an uprising...