On Wednesday, Egyptian MP Essam Al-Omda, a member of the Parliamentary Defense and National Security Committee, submitted an urgent statement to the ministers of foreign affairs and immigration regarding the detention of 250 Egyptians in Libya.
AL-Omda said in his statement that approximately 250 Egyptian migrants, including 200 from his district of Abnoub, travelled to Libya on 5 June for work.
“They are now detained in a center for illegal immigrants,” he continued.
On 21 June, social networking sites revealed that the Egyptian Consulate contacted the Illegal Immigration Gathering Center, and registered the workers’ numbers in preparation for their deportation.
“Since then, nothing has been heard of them, and they have not returned home,” Al-Omda added. He claimed that the Foreign Ministry has failed to give an explicit answer as to their whereabouts.
Back in April, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced the signing of an MoU between Egypt and Libya to facilitate the return of Egyptian workers.
Before the 2011 civil war, millions of Egyptians, mostly from Upper Egypt and other rural areas, worked in Libya.
The country is known for its harsh detention of migrants and asylum seekers. Human rights groups and aid organizations have accused the centers of torture, extortion, and murder.