Four years have been passed since the arrest of the 16-year-old boy, Abdullah Boumediene, from Arish in the North Sinai region of Egypt.
Abdullah Boumediene was just 12 years old when he was first arrested from his family house on December 31, 2017. Since then, he was kept away from his family.
He was “disappeared” into the National Security Force’s headquarters in Arish for six consecutive months.
In July 2018, he was brought to court facing security charges in Case No. 570, but was not allowed legal representation.
A year later, Abbasiya Children’s Court has ordered his release after 177 days in arbitrary detention.
Boumediene was later moved to Arish police station to finalise his release measures. However, he was disappeared and has not been seen since 10 January 2019.
On Monday of December 13, 2021, Boumediene celebrates his 16th birthday, while his fate and whereabouts remain unknown.
While children officially have special rights in Egypt, the regime rarely abides by the rules. They are often kept in crowded cells, face torture and are kept away from their families.
Egyptian security forces routinely subject those in custody to enforced disappearance and torture, which the UN Committee against Torture concluded to be “a systematic practice in Egypt.” Those disappeared and tortured are then routinely convicted in grossly unfair mass trials, in some cases before military courts.
