Eleven Egyptian rights organizations on Tuesday urged the Egyptian government to intervene to rescue hundreds of Africans allegedly held by human smuggling gangs in Sinai. These organizations said in a press statement the government must stop dismissing reports about African hostages who have been held captive, tortured and raped to force their relatives to pay thousands of dollars in ransom over the past months. The UN Refugee Agency urged Egypt earlier this month to intervene for the release of 250 illegal Eritrean migrants allegedly being held by smugglers in a mountainous area on the border between Egypt and Israel. The Refugee Agency said the migrants were being harassed and their relatives asked to pay US$8000 in ransom for each individual. Egypt, however, denied the reports, saying "dubious" entities were circulating rumors to harm Egypt's reputation. The rights organizations in their statement said they have managed to contact one of the detainees in Sinai. The detainee, an Eritrean, reportedly said he is being held in a fuel truck along with 15 others because he has not managed to pay the required ransom. The detainee also reportedly said the smugglers are only giving him two bread crusts a day and salty water to drink, and he has been transferred between different places more than once. Hundreds of Eritrean, Sudanese and Somali migrants are being tortured, according to the detainee. The rights organizations said the government is obliged to intervene to rescue the migrants as stipulated by the anti-human smuggling law issued in May. They also said the government must punish the hostage-takers and provide medical, psychological and social assistance to the victims.
