- EGYPT
- January 7, 2013
- 4 minutes read
Demonstration Monday in Solidarity with Egyptians Detained in UAE without Charges Or Trials
A committee set up by a coalition of professional unions and associations to follow-up the crisis of Egyptian detainees in the UAE met to discuss developments and ways to end the crisis.
Attendees agreed in principle on a number of steps, including preparation for a meeting with Nabil Araby, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States; and Mohamed Kamel Amr, the Egyptian Foreign Minister.
They also agreed to organize a protest in front of the UAE embassy in Cairo, on Monday afternoon, and to set up an official Facebook page to follow the crisis’s developments and publish the detainees’ CV’s or biographies.
Attendees further confirmed the importance of the initiative made by the families of Egyptian citizens detained in unusual conditions and in violation of legal norms and human rights, stressing that the follow-up committee is concerned about all the legal violations against Egyptian professionals residing in the UAE.
The committee considers that unofficial accusations peddled by certain Emirati media outlets against Egyptian detainees are simply old clichés, outdated and pointless. Indeed, all actions taken against Egyptian professionals detained in the UAE represent a regrettable and absurd assault on legal norms and international conventions that establish clear controls regarding restricting citizens’ freedoms.
For his part, Wael Qandil, the liberal columnist, denounced how some Egyptian opposition personalities received with glee news of the Egyptian delegation’s return from the UAE without resolving the Egyptian detainees’ issue.
In an article in Al-Shorouk newspaper Saturday, titled ‘Ethics of Gentlemen and of Slaves’, Wael Qandil asked: "Is defending the dignity and freedom of Egyptians abroad a matter of principle, or just another card in a political Poker game?
"The most important thing is to maintain a minimum of integrity that obliges us to defend human rights and liberties for all human beings, without discriminating between them on political or ideological basis."
