Sudanese refugees describe abuse in Egyptian jails as deportations reportedly top 5,500

Egyptian authorities have deported more than 5,500 people since November 2025 during a sharp expansion of immigration enforcement, while Sudanese refugees have described overcrowding, extortion, beatings and inadequate medical care inside police-run detention facilities. A Reuters investigation published on June 24, 2026, documented the deaths of three Sudanese refugees in Egyptian custody this year, including an 18-year-old student who reportedly died from pneumonia after more than three weeks in detention. Ten former detainees described cells so crowded that prisoners slept in shifts, while some said food, clothing and sleeping space were taken or sold by other inmates. Egypt has denied conducting a broad campaign against refugees and maintains that deportations follow legal procedures and apply to people who violate immigration laws or present national security concerns.

Three Egyptian security officials placed the number of deportations since November at more than 5,500, compared with approximately 100 formal deportations annually in 2023 and 2024. Egypt does not publish detailed immigration enforcement figures, and the total has not been independently verified through public government records. The scale described by officials, refugees, lawyers and rights groups nevertheless indicates a major shift from occasional border removals towards arrests in Cairo and other population centres.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has expressed concern about arrests, detention and deportations involving registered refugees, women and children. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has also stated that returns to Sudan should not take place under current conditions because conflict and humanitarian collapse prevent safe and sustainable return.

What did the June 24 investigation reveal about Egypt’s detention and deportation campaign?

The investigation drew on interviews with 45 refugees, seven lawyers and eight rights advocates, alongside accounts from former detainees and relatives of people held by Egyptian authorities. Refugees described plainclothes officers carrying out identity checks in homes, streets and workplaces before placing people in unmarked vehicles.

The reported enforcement campaign has affected people without valid Egyptian residency permits, but testimony also indicates that some detainees possessed United Nations refugee documents or were waiting for delayed residency appointments. Refugees have reported appointment delays lasting several years, creating periods during which their United Nations registration remains valid but their Egyptian residency documents expire.

Amnesty International separately documented arrests of refugees and asylum seekers in Cairo, Giza, Al-Qalyubia and Alexandria between late December 2025 and February 2026. The organisation said several detainees were registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, while others had appointments scheduled to renew their residency.

The enforcement campaign has changed daily life for refugee communities. Some Sudanese families have stopped sending children to school, reduced journeys outside their homes or abandoned employment because of the perceived risk of arrest. Others have chosen to return to Sudan despite continuing insecurity because they fear prolonged detention, separation from relatives or deportation without warning.

The expansion into homes and workplaces is particularly significant. Previous enforcement frequently concentrated on border areas or people intercepted while attempting to enter Egypt. The latest accounts describe a campaign reaching established refugee communities, including people who had lived in Egypt before the Sudan war began in April 2023.

Why have the deaths of three Sudanese refugees intensified scrutiny of Egyptian prisons?

The three deaths documented during 2026 involved an 18-year-old student, a 30-year-old man who collapsed approximately 72 hours after detention and a 67-year-old man with diabetes. Two security officials said nine Sudanese nationals had died in custody, but the circumstances of the additional reported deaths were not independently established.

The case of 18-year-old Al-Nazir Al-Sadig has become central to concerns about medical care and detention conditions. Al-Nazir Al-Sadig was detained outside his family’s home in Badr, an eastern Cairo suburb, on January 18. Relatives and another detainee said he was held with more than 140 people in a cell measuring approximately six metres by six metres.

Former detainees described poor ventilation, cigarette smoke, insufficient floor space and limited access to clean water. Food brought by relatives was reportedly taken by other prisoners, while detainees said clothing and sleeping space were also subject to theft or extortion.

Al-Nazir Al-Sadig reportedly developed a chest infection and requested medicine during a family visit. His family was informed of his death the following day. A judicial official recorded pneumonia as the cause of death, although the full medical circumstances were not independently confirmed.

Nine other former detainees described comparable conditions, including severe overcrowding, beatings, scarce food, dirty water and inadequate protection from violence by other inmates. An Eritrean refugee with valid residency and United Nations refugee documentation reported suffering a sexual assault by female prisoners while detained. Medical records showed treatment for bleeding after her release.

These accounts raise two separate institutional questions. The first concerns whether people were lawfully detained and given an effective opportunity to challenge removal. The second concerns whether Egyptian authorities provided safe conditions, medical treatment and protection from abuse after taking individuals into custody.

How does Egypt defend its migration enforcement while rejecting claims of a refugee crackdown?

The Egyptian State Information Service has denied that a broad campaign against refugees exists. The Egyptian State Information Service has said deportations are generally carried out through legal procedures and judicial guarantees after a person is found to have violated the law or presented a national security threat.

The Egyptian government has also argued that individual allegations should not be treated as evidence of national policy. Egyptian authorities point to the presence of millions of Sudanese nationals and other migrants who live, study and work in Egypt and use public education and health services.

Egypt received more than one million Sudanese people after fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in April 2023. Government estimates place the number of Sudanese arrivals at approximately 1.5 million, while more than 1.1 million refugees and asylum seekers from multiple countries are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Hosting a refugee population of that scale has placed additional pressure on housing, schools, hospitals, employment and public finances during a period of severe economic difficulty. Egypt has experienced high inflation, currency weakness and rising living costs, increasing competition for affordable housing and informal employment.

Egyptian authorities maintain that the country has continued providing refuge despite those pressures. They have also stated that Egypt received the second-largest number of asylum applications globally in 2025, which the government presents as evidence that people continue to view the country as a place of protection.

Those arguments do not resolve the detention allegations. A government may enforce immigration laws while remaining bound by its obligations towards refugees and asylum seekers. The legal issue is whether each person receives an individual assessment, access to legal procedures and protection against return to serious danger.

Why is Egypt’s new asylum law central to fears of unlawful return to war-torn Sudan?

Egypt adopted its first national asylum law in 2024, transferring significant responsibility for refugee registration and status decisions from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to Egyptian institutions. The law grants recognised refugees access to employment, education and healthcare and formally protects against discrimination, degrading treatment and refoulement.

Egyptian authorities say the legislation places refugee protection within a national legal framework and affirms respect for human dignity. Implementing regulations published in June 2026 are intended to define how applications, recognition, residence and removal procedures will operate.

Rights organisations and refugee advocates remain concerned about the discretion given to government officials. Broad grounds for denying or revoking refugee status could expose applicants to rejection based on national security or public order considerations without sufficiently clear limits.

Administrative delays create another vulnerability. Refugees have reported waiting years for appointments to renew residency documents. Some people are therefore at risk of arrest for expired documents even when they are registered as refugees and have attempted to complete the required procedures.

Amnesty International documented cases in which prosecutors ordered detainees released, but police continued holding them while deportation procedures progressed. In one case, relatives were reportedly told to purchase an airline ticket or the detainee could remain imprisoned indefinitely.

The effectiveness of the asylum law will depend on whether it provides meaningful access to legal review before removal. Written protections against refoulement offer limited security when a detainee cannot contact a lawyer, present a protection claim or challenge the legality of continued detention.

What does international law require when Sudanese refugees face removal from Egypt?

The principle of non-refoulement prohibits returning a person to a country where that individual faces persecution, torture or other serious threats to life or freedom. The obligation requires an individual assessment rather than a general assumption that a nationality, region or temporary reduction in fighting makes return safe.

Sudan continues to experience armed conflict, drone attacks, displacement, food insecurity and limited access to essential services. The Sudanese Armed Forces regained control of Khartoum from the Rapid Support Forces, but the capital continues to suffer insecurity and severely damaged infrastructure. Fighting and alleged atrocities also continue in other parts of Sudan, including Darfur.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has stated that returns should not occur under present conditions because Sudan does not offer safe and sustainable reintegration. The institution has distinguished voluntary return, based on informed personal choice, from forced deportation or a decision made primarily to avoid detention.

Egypt has organised trains and buses for Sudanese nationals choosing to return voluntarily. Some refugees say they have joined those programmes because conditions have improved in their home regions or because they want to reunite with relatives.

Other refugees have said their decisions were driven by fear of arrest in Egypt rather than confidence that Sudan was safe. That difference matters because a return may not be genuinely voluntary when the alternative is indefinite detention, loss of employment or separation from children.

The continuing movement in both directions reflects Sudan’s unstable conditions. Some families return when fighting declines in one area, while others arrive in Egypt after violence intensifies elsewhere. A single national assessment cannot capture the different risks faced by people from Khartoum, Darfur, Kordofan or other regions.

How does the European Union’s €7.4 billion partnership complicate accountability for refugee protection?

The European Union and Egypt signed a Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership in March 2024 covering political cooperation, economic stability, trade, investment, migration, security and human development. The partnership is supported by a €7.4 billion financial and investment package for the period from 2024 to 2027, including €200 million for migration management.

European Union policy recognises Egypt as an important host country and a major barrier against irregular migration towards Libya, the Mediterranean and Europe. European funding supports border management, anti-smuggling measures, economic resilience and services for refugees and host communities.

The partnership creates a difficult accountability question. European governments have an interest in helping Egypt accommodate refugees and preventing dangerous journeys, but financial support can also reduce political pressure to investigate detention conditions or unlawful removals.

Previous enforcement campaigns have encouraged some Sudanese migrants to attempt routes through Libya, where migrants face further risks of trafficking, detention and violence. A crackdown intended to limit irregular movement can therefore redirect people towards more dangerous routes rather than ending migration.

The European Union states that its cooperation includes protection, legal pathways and dignified return. Human rights groups argue that those commitments require measurable safeguards, including access to detention facilities, legal representation, monitoring of deportations and consequences when refugees are returned to danger.

The issue is not whether Egypt should receive international assistance. Egypt is carrying a major regional responsibility while facing significant economic pressure. The policy test is whether financial cooperation strengthens refugee protection or primarily expands enforcement capacity.

What happens next for Sudanese refugees, Egyptian authorities and international partners?

The immediate priority for rights organisations is gaining access to people held in police stations and other detention sites. Independent monitoring could establish how many refugees are detained, whether they possess valid documents and whether they are receiving medical care and legal assistance.

Egyptian authorities face pressure to publish deportation statistics and explain the legal basis for individual removals. Greater transparency would help distinguish voluntary returns, court-ordered deportations and administrative removals carried out without full judicial review.

The implementation of Egypt’s asylum law will be closely watched. Clear procedures for registration, residency renewal, appeals and protection claims could reduce uncertainty. Broad enforcement without accessible legal safeguards could deepen fears that the new law is formalising rather than correcting the crackdown.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees must also address registration and appointment backlogs. Refugees who wait years for residency renewal remain vulnerable even when their protection claim has been recognised.

For the European Union, future financing and migration cooperation provide leverage. Funding conditions could require detention access, individual risk assessments, legal review and reliable post-return monitoring.

The central contradiction remains unresolved. Egypt continues to host one of the world’s largest refugee populations and provides essential services to large numbers of displaced Sudanese people. At the same time, evidence of mass arrests, custody deaths and rapidly rising deportations suggests that the protection system is under severe institutional and political strain.

What are the key takeaways from Egypt’s detention and deportation of Sudanese refugees?

• Three Egyptian security officials placed deportations since November 2025 at more than 5,500, compared with approximately 100 formal removals annually during 2023 and 2024, although Egypt has not published detailed official data.
• A June 24, 2026, investigation documented three Sudanese refugee deaths in Egyptian detention this year, including 18-year-old Al-Nazir Al-Sadig, who reportedly died from pneumonia after more than three weeks in custody.
• Ten former detainees described severe overcrowding, limited food and water, extortion, beatings and inadequate protection inside police-run facilities, while one Eritrean refugee reported a sexual assault supported by medical treatment records.
• The Egyptian State Information Service denied that a broad refugee crackdown exists and maintained that deportations generally follow legal procedures involving immigration violations or individuals considered threats to national security.
• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Sudanese returns should not occur under current conditions because continuing conflict, humanitarian collapse and damaged public services prevent safe and sustainable return.
• Egypt hosts approximately 1.5 million Sudanese people who arrived after the April 2023 conflict, while more than 1.1 million refugees and asylum seekers from several nationalities are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
• Egypt’s 2024 asylum law formally protects refugees from refoulement and grants access to employment, education and healthcare, but advocates remain concerned about broad exclusion grounds, administrative delays and limited opportunities to challenge deportation.
• The European Union’s €7.4 billion partnership with Egypt includes €200 million for migration management, creating pressure for European institutions to ensure that financial cooperation includes enforceable refugee protections and detention monitoring.