CAIRO — Youm7 newspaper reported April 26 that the Egyptian government was about to discuss a draft migration law that, if approved, would see irregular migrants — including refugees and asylum seekers fleeing conflict zones — imprisoned for between 15 and 20 years for attempted “illegal immigration.”
The draft, tabled by the Cairo-based Egyptian Union for Human Rights (EUHR) and later sent to the Cabinet, recommended that individuals found entering or leaving Egypt irregularly by sea, air or land (and through cross-border tunnels) face harsh, unprecedented prison sentences.