After widespread outcry: Kuwait deports Egyptian opposition figure to Turkey instead of homeland

An Egyptian businessman, known for his affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, has been deported to Turkey instead of Egypt after a widespread outcry over the past 24 hours by social media activists and human rights groups.

El-Sayed El-Shewihi, who also holds Turkish citizenship, was on a visit to Kuwait when he was held by the Kuwaiti authorities that intended to forcibly deport him to Egypt for reportedly being a member of the group, which was designated illegal since 2004, according to a statement by Istanbul-based Adala (Justice) Centre for Human Rights.

"No state has the right to expel or deport a person to another country if there are suspicions he would be subjected to ill-treatment or torture," the statement added.

It remains unclear why Shewihi was deported in the first place.

In 2013, current Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi led a military coup against his predecessor, Mohammed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood who won the first-ever democratic presidential elections the previous year.

Sisi arrested and imprisoned tens of thousands of coup opponents from the Muslim Brotherhood and other political groups, using trumped-up charges such as "inciting terrorism" and "spreading false news" to sentence them to long periods in prison.

Hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters were massacred by the military in Cairo's Rabaa Square in August 2013.

Based on official figures and estimates published in recent years, from nine to 14 million Egyptians live abroad; tens of thousands of them have been living in self-exile to avoid repression at home, especially members or supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood.