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A Turkish humanitarian worker has spoken out about his alleged detention, mistreatment, and the suffering of his family at the hands of Egyptian security forces after traveling to Cairo to deliver aid to Gaza.
Ali Rıza Topkan, a volunteer aid worker from Türkiye, traveled to Egypt with his wife and four children earlier this year, aiming to provide humanitarian assistance to wounded Palestinians in Gaza amid the ongoing conflict.
According to a detailed personal account released this week, Topkan was arrested by Egyptian police upon arrival at the Cairo airport without explanation.
"Right after the passport control, I was detained," Topkan said. "They immediately took my phone. I managed to send a single message to a translator friend in Egypt: 'I've been arrested; please inform my family.' Seconds later, my phone was confiscated and never returned."
Topkan claims that his friend, after alerting Turkish contacts, was also detained and tortured by Egyptian authorities. "They raided his home at midnight, covered his head with a sack, and dragged him away in front of his family," he alleged. "He was electrocuted. His knees and feet are severely damaged. His only crime was helping me."
According to Topkan, he was held in isolation without food, water, or sleep for 48 hours. "They questioned me repeatedly: 'Why are you helping Gaza? Why Gaza? We will kill you here. No one will find your body.'"
Topkan also said his wife and children were detained in inhumane conditions. "I heard my children's cries from a nearby room. I bribed a cleaner to bring them food. I found them lying on the filthy floor, exhausted from hunger, in a windowless 4-square-meter room," he recounted emotionally.
"They were eating whatever fell on the ground. They had abdominal pain and diarrhea."
He added that the police verbally abused his wife and that the family was given only one piece of bread a day, often containing stones.
The ordeal reportedly ended after pressure from public opinion in Türkiye and diplomatic efforts by Turkish officials. Topkan credited Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan for intervening to secure their release.
"We owe our freedom first to Allah, then to our brothers in Türkiye, and to our state," he said.
Despite the trauma, Topkan reaffirmed his commitment to Gaza. "If helping Gaza is a crime, I will continue to commit it," he declared. "Because helping Gaza is not a crime—it is an honor."
Topkan concluded by calling attention to others who remain imprisoned: "We were released, but the cells are still full."
Rejecting international calls for a cease-fire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 56,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Despite these legal steps, the violence has continued. Convoys like the “Convoy of Steadfastness” have emerged across the Arab world as grassroots responses, attempting to bypass political inaction and deliver aid directly to Gaza.
These civilian-led efforts highlight the growing frustration among populations across North Africa and the Middle East over what they see as international complicity and regional silence.
Now stranded at the Rafah border crossing, the convoy’s participants say their goal is not only to bring food and medicine but also to send a message of resistance, solidarity, and moral outrage.
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