VP/HR — Probable kidnapping of Hamed Abdel-Samad in Egypt

2.12.2013

Question for written answer E-013640-13
to the Commission (Vice-President/High Representative)
Rule 117
Philip Claeys (NI)

On Sunday 24 November the German citizen Hamed Abdel-Samad disappeared in Cairo. According to his brother, this critic of Islam, who has already received multiple death threats, has probably been kidnapped by radical Islamists[1].

Have the offices of the High Representative been in contact with the Egyptian authorities about the suspected kidnapping of Mr Abdel-Samad? Does the High Representative believe that the Egyptian Government is doing enough to guarantee the security of people like Mr Abdel-Samad?

Have concerns been raised about the safety of critics of Islam, and of non-Muslims in general, in Egypt?

• [1] http://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article122228476/Deutscher-Publizist-in-Aegypten-verschwunden.html

OJ C 263, 12/08/2014