Turkey today deported Egyptian national Mohamed Abdel-Hafeez Abdullah, whose name appeared on a list of alleged conspirators tied to the outlawed Hasm group, just two days after detaining him at Istanbul Airport upon his return from Kenya.
The Egyptian interior ministry had recently named Abdullah in a statement accusing him and others of plotting attacks on vital infrastructure in Egypt as part of a purported plan to revive Hasm, an armed group involved in the assassination of a number of security figures in Egypt.
Abdullah’s wife confirmed the deportation in a post on his personal Facebook account. Voicing concern for his safety, she appealed directly to Turkish authorities, pleading, “Please bring my husband back to us safely.”
She also confirmed that their legal team is continuing to pursue avenues to ensure his safety and reunite him with his children.
The deportation has drawn criticism from Turkish rights advocates, with Lawyer Guldan Sonmez taking to X that she is “deeply saddened” by the deportation of a man “we have been campaigning to protect.”
“Refugees fleeing death and torture are a moral responsibility for the Turkish people,” Sonmez said. “State institutions and officials are constitutionally obliged to protect them.”
Asking “how can individuals who were granted legal protection be consigned to an unknown fate that could lead to torture or death,” she affirmed that legal efforts would continue to ensure Abdullah’s safety and his reunion with his family.
While neither Abdullah’s lawyer nor wife have disclosed his deportation destination, a human rights source at an Egyptian civil society organization in Turkey told Al Manassa it was unlikely he had been extradited to Egypt, citing his wife’s social media post.
“It’s clear from her language and demeanor that she knows where he is,” they said. “If the decision had been to deport him to Egypt, her reaction would have been completely different, given the imminent danger he would have faced.”
They added that this case could signal the start of a wave of deportations targeting other Egyptian nationals in Turkey.
“The problem is, there are others living here whose names appeared in the Interior Ministry’s statement,” the source explained. “So in the coming days, we’re likely to see more talk about the same issue—whether it’s deportations or arrests.”
The source also suggested that Abdullah may have been deported to an as-yet-unknown third country—possibly Kenya, the nation he arrived from before his arrest.
The Egyptian government's crackdown on Hasm intensified earlier this week.
On Sunday, Egypt’s Interior Ministry announced to have thwarted a plot by five Hasm members operating abroad and killed two others inside Egypt. In a video statement, the ministry accused Hasm of planning “hostile operations” against security and economic targets.
In a video aired by the state-aligned Extra News channel, the Interior Ministry detailed its account of tracking Hasm member Ahmed Mohamed Abdel-Razek Ahmed Ghoneim, who reportedly entered Egypt “illegally through desert routes” before taking refuge in a Bulaq Al-Dakrour apartment in Cairo to prepare for a terrorist plot.
Beyond those killed in the raid, authorities also identified five other individuals involved in planning the attack, including Abdullah.
Hasm, short for “Harakat Sawa'd Misr” (Arms of Egypt Movement), emerged in 2014 and has claimed responsibility for a series of high-profile attacks in Egypt, mostly targeting police, judiciary, and government figures.
Earlier this month, a video attributed to Hasm surfaced online, showing masked men conducting military-style drills in an uninhabited desert area. The footage featured a banner that read: “Hasm: With our arms, we protect our revolution.”
This was the group’s first public reappearance in nearly six years, following a series of security crackdowns that weakened its presence.
The group is designated a terrorist organization by both Egypt and the US.
While Egyptian officials say Hasm is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Brotherhood has repeatedly denied involvement in violent activities.
