ONG GHANDI

PRESS CALL
Rome, 18 May 2013
In occasion of the visit to Rome of the Egyptian Sheikh Mohammed, a highly esteemed and respected human
rights defender and rescuer of hundreds of kidnapped victims in the Sinai Region, ONG Ghandi under the
leadership of Dr Alganesh Fessaha is proudly announcing an event organized to raise awareness of the issue of human trafficking and kidnapping of African refugees.
The event will be held on Tuesday 21st May at 18.30 pm at Comunità San Egidio, in Piazza Sant Egidio 3, Roma, in the Trastevere area.

At this event, Sheikh Mohammed will explain how every day several innocent refugees from Eastern Africa,
especially Eritrea, are kidnapped and held hostages by Bedouins tribesmen in the increasingly lawless Sinai
Peninsula for ransom. He will discuss the level of atrocities and human rights violation that is currently being
perpetrated on these innocent victims and the almost surreal circumstances under which he is rescuing them
from the hands of the ruthless kidnappers putting his own life and that of his likeminded human rights defenders and close collaborators at grave danger. To date, Sheikh Mohammed has saved at least 350 lives.
He will also discuss how while innocent victims, including children, are regularly being subjected to these horrific forms of torture and rape, the government in Cairo as well as other countries in the region, are ignoring and denying the problem and give his perspective on how the Italian government and people can play an important role in helping to end this tragedy.
A press conference will be held on 21st May at 11.00am in Comunità San Egidio, in Piazza S. Egidio, 3 Zona Trastevere. For further information, private meetings and private interviews please contact Million Berhe on 00393282330465 and Dr Alganesh Fessaha on 00393485622734.
It is near impossible to imagine the condition under which innocent victims are being kept and the level of torture they are enduring. I have therefore pasted in below pictures of wounds caused by melting flaming plastic over the body of a victim recently rescued by Sheikh Mohammed.
Please note that the problem of kidnapping and torture of refugees in Sinai has been recently covered by the BBC World Service: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21670929 and CNN Freedom Project:
http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/26/stand-in-the-sinai-now-online