Egypt: Information on military service and penalties for failing to report after being called up for service (update to Response to Information Request EGY8610 of 14 May 1991)

For information on the requested subject beyond that provided in Response to Information Request EGY8610 of 14 May 1991, please refer to Response to Information Request EGY10773 of 14 May 1992. Response to Information Request EGY15724.E of 16 November 1993 provides information on obtaining Egyptian passports, and indicates that male Egyptians of military service age are required to show proof of having served or being exempt from service in order to obtain a passport. Country Reports 1994 states that "Egyptian males who have not completed compulsory military service may not travel abroad or emigrate, although this restriction can be circumvented" (1995). For additional information, please refer to the above-cited Responses and documents, all available through Regional Documentation Centres.

A news report attached to this response refers to military service in Egypt. The document reports raids by security forces in southern Egypt in May 1993 "targeting common law criminals and men who skipped their military service" (AFP 27 May 1993). The article reports the arrest of convicted criminals, of people "suspected of links with Islamic militants" or owing unpaid fines, and of more than 4,000 people "for failing to do their military service," although the report does not provide details on penalties or fines that may have been levied on this last group of detainees (ibid.).

In addition to the information provided in the attachment, an article on the status of Egyptian women states that "Egyptian women are barred from military service" (Chicago Tribune 21 Aug. 1994). Another report mentions the government's dismissal of a proposal by a radical Muslim political group, the Al Sahwa party, which, among other things, wanted to "dispense Christian Egyptians from having to do military service and charge them a poll tax instead" (APS 6 Feb. 1993). Another source refers to a multiple murder committed by a man who "had been expelled from Egypt's military service in 1989 for medical reasons" and who "had received psychiatric care in a military hospital" (The New York Times 28 Oct. 1993). The report does not provide details on expulsion from military service for medical reasons or on the medical care provided by the military.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Agence France Presse (AFP). 27 May 1993. "Some 18,000 People Arrested in Egypt Raids." (NEXIS)

Arab Press Service (APS) Diplomatic Recorder. 6 February 1993. "Egypt: Jan. 31: Court Upholds Ban on Islamic Radical Party." (NEXIS)

Chicago Tribune. 21 August 1994. Chicagoland Final Edition. Judy Peres. "For Egyptian Women, Progress is an Anecdote." (NEXIS)

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1994. 1995. United States Department of State. (Electronic version received from Resource Information Centre, USINS)

The New York Times. 28 October 1993. Final edition. "Gunman Mentally Ill, Egypt Says." (NEXIS)

Attachment

Agence France Presse (AFP). 27 May 1993. "Some 18,000 People Arrested in Egypt Raids." (NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

Amnesty International Report. Yearly. London: Amnesty International.

Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. New York: Lawyers Committee for Human Rights.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Reports. Daily.

Human Rights Watch World Report. Yearly. New York: Human Rights Watch.

Material from the Indexed Media Review (IMR) or country files containing articles and reports from diverse sources (primarily dailies and periodicals) from the Weekly Media Review.

Newspapers and periodicals pertaining to the appropriate region.

On-line searches of news articles.

Note on oral sources:

Oral sources are usually contacted when documentary sources have been exhausted. However, oral sources must agree to be quoted in a publicly available Response to Information Request. If they refuse, the Response will read "no information currently available." Contacting oral sources is also subject to time constraints; for example, there are periods of the year when academics are unavailable.

Note:

This list is not exhaustive. Country-specific books available in the Resource Centre are not included.