Save Sameh Khouzam!
Breaking News: Sameh Khouzam received a 12-day
Stay of Deportation until June 18th. We still need to keep lots of
pressure on our government to keep him from being sent back to
torture. See below for details about how you can help.
Sameh Khouzam is a Christian
from Egypt who fled after being repeatedly beaten and tortured
to our country and asked the U.S. government to protect him
from torture. The highest federal court in New York forbid
his deportation to Egypt based on the threats that he faced.
Now, three years later,
administration officials are planning to deport him to Egypt in
direct violation of the 2nd Circuit's order and in violation of
the Convention Against Torture. They've procured what are
called "diplomatic assurances" from the Egyptian government that
they won't torture him.
This would be funny if it
weren't so shocking. Egypt's human rights record is
abominable. The U.S. State Department has said that Egypt regularly
tortures its prisoners. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch agree.
The use of these so-called
"diplomatic assurances" is especially troubling when you're
talking about Egypt. Every international body or court
that's looked at this diplomatic assurances practice has
condemned it as a violation of international law (CAT, ICCPR,
etc). It's clear that Egypt cannot be trusted. Nor, as it
seems, can the U.S. be trusted to observe the most basic human
rights standard - the absolute prohibition on returning someone
to torture.
Click Here for Background Information
This is a picture of Sameh at our
Memorial Day picnic,
the day before he was taken
into INS Custody to be deported to Egypt.
This is Georgette, Sameh's mother who
last year celebrated Christmas
with her son for the first
time in 9 years, and is now absolutely devastated that
she might lose her son
forever
Here's Sameh enjoying an
evening with friends
...before Sameh is
deported back to Egypt!
We need
your help!
Sameh only has
until June 18th before he is deported.
Please,
take these steps to ensure Sameh's safety:
-
Write
The Honorable Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State
The
Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary
of State
U.S.
Department of State
2201 C
Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20520
202-647-4000
http://contact-us.state.gov/cgi-bin/state.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php
-
The
Honorable Michael Chertoff, Secretary, Department of
Homeland Security
The
Honorable Michael Chertoff
Office of
the Secretary
U.S.
Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C. 20528
Operator
Number: 202-282-8000
Comment
Line: 202-282-8495
|
