Sumaya Maher whereabouts is still unknown since her abduction by the Egyptian security forces on October 17,2017.
Sumaya is the daughter of the former member in the Shura council Maher Khozaima. She has a bachelor degree in Science form Al-Azhar University and she works a chemist in a laboratory in Al-Beheira governorate, northern Egypt.
Sumaya has enforcedly disappeared by al-Qalyubia security forces. Since, then her whereabouts have been identified.
Eyewitness reported that the security forces stormed her father’s house on Tuesday 17, at 3:00 am.Both Sumaya and her mother were arrested after the later refused to allow them to arrest her daughter only.
In addition, the security forces arrested Omar Essam, Sumaya’s nephew, after they had stolen all house’s electronic devices right after they inspected the house for three hours.
The defensive committee for Al-Beheira detainees stated that security authorities released the Sumaya’s mother, but they refused to give any information about Sumaya’s whereabouts and her nephew.
They denied giving any information on the place of their detention, the reason for their arrest or the charges raised against them. In addition, the prison authority denied her detention.
Last August, an Egyptian human rights organization stated that 254 people have “forcibly disappeared” in the country over the past six months.
While the Egyptian authorities repeatedly deny the cases of “enforced disappearance” in the country, a human rights activist said that the issue of “enforced disappearance” is “unrealistic” and has become “a tool of political intrigue.”
The Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms, based in Cairo, stated in a statistical report issued on 6 August that 254 people “disappeared forcibly” between 1 January and the end of June.
The organization clarified that “all those who have been forcibly disappearing are male and only 47 have appeared.” Moreover, the organization added that 104 people were between the ages of 18 and 35.
According to the report, last May was the month where most of the cases of “enforced disappearance,” which amounted to 67 cases, have been recorded.
In the same context, Human Right Watch states that under Al-Sisi’s rule, Egyptian police and National Security agents have routinely used torture and enforced disappearance against political opponents.
