He had not given any sign of life since August 4, 2021. Yann Bourdon, a 27-year-old French student traveling to Egypt, has returned to France, announced to franceinfo Sarah Sakouti, legal officer within the Committee for Justice, a Human rights NGO based in Geneva, confirming information from BFMTV. “On August 9, he went to the French consulate in Cairo. He communicated on the telephone with his sister and later with his mother”relates Sarah Sakouti, Wednesday, August 17.
The plane ticket for his return to Paris on August 10 was paid for by the Egyptian authorities “to our great surprise”comments Sarah Sakouti. “He is fine, mentally and physically”further details the lawyer, in regular contact with the family of Yann Bourdon.
Where had this master’s student in history from the Sorbonne gone? “Out of respect for Mr. Bourdon, we would like to respect his silence as to the reasons for his disappearance”reads a statement from the Committee for Justice.
It is with pleasure and relief that we inform you that on August 9, 2022 Yann presented himself at the French Consulate in Cairo, Egypt and returned to France the next day.
Thank you all for your help and support in the search for our loved one. pic.twitter.com/TpCQhfXBGl– Disappearance.Yann.Bourdon.au.Cairo (@yann_missing) August 15, 2022
“Sometimes missing people don’t want to talk about what happened, hoping to get their lives back on track,” comments Sarah Sakouti, while explaining that she is not authorized to give more information on the conditions of her disappearance.
Yann Bourdon had put aside his studies to begin a long journey in 2020. By email, the young man regularly gave his news to those around him. On July 25, 2021, he warned of his arrival in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Three days later, he recounted his hitchhiking trip to Cairo, driven safely by a young policeman. He then explained that he was staying in a youth hostel, “a luxury” for the one who was accustomed to sleeping in his tent, tells his sister Wendy at LCI. He then planned to visit “Cairo Museum”. Then, radio silence.
After having hoped for a time for news of the young man, his family reported his disappearance to the crisis unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in November 2021. “They asked us to report the disappearance to the police station, which we did”, further details his sister Wendy. A disappearance file is then opened and the family learns that Yann Bourdon’s bank account was emptied on August 7 from Cairo.
Sarah Sakouti says she brought the Frenchman’s case before the United Nations’ special working group on enforced and involuntary disappearances on July 19. Still without an answer, the family of Yann Bourdon has decided to organize its own research via social networks. When Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi came to Paris on July 22, the student’s relatives organized a demonstration in front of the Elysée. Less than three weeks later, Yann Bourdon resurfaced.
Contacted by franceinfo, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs assures Thursday August 18, after the publication of the article, that Yann Bourdon “presented himself spontaneously at the Consulate General of France in Cairo on August 9” and adds that “since the report of his disappearance in November 2021” his services as well as the diplomatic and consular posts in Egypt “have been fully mobilized on this file”. The Quai d’Orsay finally states that it is delighted “with this happy ending.”