• EGYPT
  • March 26, 2016
  • 5 minutes read

Rights Organization Condemns Arrest of Egyptian Physician by Indian Authorities

Rights Organization Condemns Arrest of Egyptian Physician by Indian Authorities

Shehab Center has received reports that the Indian authorities arrested Dr Hossam Tawfiq Abdel-Fattah Mohamed while traveling in a medical mission from Qatar to India.


Dr Hossam Mohamed was arrested in Mumbai Airport on Thursday, March 24, 2016 while on his way to attend a medical conference there with a delegation from the Qatari hospital where he worked since 2014.

Dr Mohamed was sentenced to death in absentia (in the so-called case of "Storming Matai Police Station in Minya – Upper Egypt", the well-known mass-execution case) along with 529 others perceived as opponents of the illegitimate military coup. In that infamous mass trial, hundreds of regime opponents were sentenced to death without the judge reading the case papers or hearing any defense.

In fact, all rights of the accused and all the guarantees of fair trial were violated in that most absurd case. At the time, all rights organizations spoke against this mass trial and the total absence of due process. Even the United Nations Secretary General mentioned this mass execution sentence in a special statement. In any case, the death sentence was then commuted to life imprisonment (25 years), and then overturned by the Egyptian Court of Cassation, which ordered a re-trial.

Dr Hossam Mohamed is a renowned Egyptian physician and an acknowledged scientist, well-respected in his field. He holds the highest academic degrees, including an MA and a PhD in Urology.

Dr Mohamed was held in detention for four months; then after his release at the start of 2014, he left Egypt (in a very legitimate way) for Malaysia – in search of work and a safe haven from the oppression of the military junta in his homeland. He then moved over to Qatar and started work at Hamad General Hospital as a specialist Urologist from August 15, 2014 to-date.

One of the credentials that led to the appointment of Dr Mohamed at the Qatar hospital was an official (clean) criminal record certificate (stating there were no criminal convictions or outstanding sentences against Dr Mohamed) issued by the Egyptian Embassy in Qatar, stamped and authenticated by the Egyptian Interior Ministry and the Qatari Foreign Ministry.

India then sent him an official invitation to attend the medical conference. He obtained an entry visa in a perfectly legal process. Then, we were all shocked to hear news of his arrest in the Mumbai Airport.

Shehab Centre calls on Indian authorities to release Dr Hossam Mohamed immediately, especially since the legal system of Interpol requires "a final ruling" to be activated, which means that the Egyptian regime has misled the international community and hid essential facts.

Shehab Centre calls upon all international human rights organizations to stand in solidarity with Dr Hossam Mohamed.

Shehab Center for Human Rights  #مركز_الشهاب

Friday – March 25, 2016