Amnesty International said today, Monday, that the Egyptian authorities are holding both the founder of one of the largest dairy and juice companies in the country and his son in conditions amounting to torture because of their refusal to give up their property.
Reuters said that Egypt's State Information Service did not respond to a request for comment.
The arrest of Safwan Thabet - the founder and former CEO of Juhayna Company - last December, and the arrest of his son Seif El-Din two months later, shook the famous company in Egypt.
According to official media, the authorities accuse the two of belonging to and financing a terrorist group, a phrase commonly used in reference to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Amnesty International said - in a statement - that the authorities used such accusations - on a large scale - in a security crackdown on opponents of various political trends, and are now using them to target businessmen.
The arrest of the Egyptian businessman # Safwan_ Thabet, head of the Juhayna company, raises widespread controversy in # Egypt @ ajmhashtag pic.twitter.com/gLC5FPQDF1
- Al Jazeera Mubasher (@ajmubasher) December 2, 2020
She added that the authorities did not provide evidence of the accusation of affiliation of the two with the group, which is banned by the authorities.
Authorities prevented Safwan Thabet from disposing of his property for several years due to his alleged ties to the Brotherhood.
There was no immediate response from the company - which is still operating as usual - to a request from Reuters for comment on the Amnesty International report.
The organization said - according to sources familiar with the company and the situation of the Thabet family - that Egyptian security officials asked Safwan before his arrest and his son to hand over part of Juhayna Company to a government-owned entity, and Seif El-Din gave up the family's right to its shares.
“In addition to being denied the right to challenge the legality of their detention, Safwan and Saif (El Din) Thabet are being tortured by prolonged and indefinite solitary confinement,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s director of research and advocacy for the Middle East and North Africa.
The Ministry of Interior and the Attorney General's office did not comment on the case.
It was not possible to contact one of Juhayna's lawyers.
In May, Reuters obtained documents showing that Juhayna had submitted several complaints to the authorities over the suspension and denial of licenses for dozens of vehicles, exposing the company to loss.