(Zaman Al Wasl)- Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a decree on Wednesday allowing him to repatriate foreign prisoners in Egypt, Reuters said.
The move that could enable the release of an Al Jazeera journalist now serving a seven-year jail term, it will also be a bad sign for Syrian prisoners who oppose Bashar al-Assad.
In the last few months many Syrian and Palestinians refugees, who fled the war-torn Syria, were repatriated by the Egyptian authorities to Syrian regime.
"The president issued a law on Wednesday allowing (him) to agree to surrender and transport non-Egyptian convicts and suspects to their countries to be tried or have their punishment implemented," the official news agency MENA said, according to Reuters.
"This decision comes in the framework of upholding the nation's interests and preserving Egypt's international image...," MENA quoted presidential spokesman Alaa Yousef as saying.
The report did not mention the Al Jazeera journalists, but there are few other criminal cases involving foreigners in Egypt and none that have received as much international attention.
Sisi proceeded to crack down hard on Mursi's supporters in a campaign that has expanded to include secular and liberal activists, including some of the leading members of the 2011 popular uprising that ousted veteran autocrat Hosni Mubarak. (With Reuters)
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.