South Sudanese student ‘tortured’ during 21-day detention in Egypt

JUBA — A South Sudanese student who was deported by the Egyptian authorities on orders of the embassy in Cairo has said that he was tortured before his forced return.

Daniel Bol Deng, 28, was a student at Cairo University studying under government scholarship when he took part in a South Sudan Cairo embassy sit-in where students demanded actions over deteriorating conditions at various universities.

He was one of 10 students detained and being deported by Egyptian security forces when they stormed the embassy to break the sit-in on the request of Amb. Joseph Muom Majak.

Bol who was deported from Egypt on October 24 said he was detained in a cell where he was unable to sit for 21 days, resulting in his legs beginning to develop swelling.

“We were detent for 21 days in the police custody. Within that 21 days we were standing no sitting or sleeping either, so the legs developed swelling,” he said.

“And of course I was one of the very few students who were torture by the Egyptian police among the team that was in jail,” he added.

The South Sudanese students further said that his phone was stolen and an amount of EGP2,500 (equivalent of $125) at the time of deportation, was stolen.