Fears of torture loom over Egyptian detained in Saudi Arabia
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An Egyptian man previously involved in anti-government protests was arrested in Saudi Arabia and now faces extradition to his home country and possible torture, his wife and rights groups said.
Saudi authorities arrested Ahmed Fathi Kamal Kamel, a 33-year-old father of two, on November 13 in the coastal city of Jeddah, said his wife, Sherine, who asked to be identified only by her first name for security reasons.
His arrest was made based on a warrant connected to a life sentence handed down in absentia by an Egyptian court in 2021, she said.
That case relates to "charges stemming from his protest activity in 2014" in Egypt, Amnesty International said in a statement earlier this month, referring to gatherings denouncing the overthrow of former president Mohammed Morsi by the current leader, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the previous year.
On Thursday, Sherine received a text message stating that a final exit visa had been issued for her husband, indicating his extradition was imminent, she said.
"They are transferring him to the immigration detention center right now," she told AFP on Sunday.
"I fear he will be deported to Egypt at any moment."
Saudi authorities did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment about the case.
Kamel has described being tortured in Egyptian custody after an earlier arrest, Amnesty said.
He was released on bail and moved to Saudi Arabia in 2014, it said.
"If extradited, Ahmed Fathi Kamal Kamel faces a high likelihood of torture and persecution by Egyptian authorities on account of his political opinion," the group said.
Amnesty added that his extradition "would amount to a clear violation of the principle of non-refoulement under international law".
Saudi Arabia has strongly backed Sisi in the decade since he overthrew Morsi, who was part of the Muslim Brotherhood movement.
Human rights groups accuse Sisi of suppressing dissent and say there are tens of thousands of political prisoners jailed in Egypt under his rule.
Cairo categorically denies these accusations and says it is combating terrorism and attempts to destabilize the country.