Above: Tarek Loubani and John Greyson were freed from prison after seven weeks, but are unable to leave Egypt. Jennifer Tryon reports.
TORONTO – The release of two Canadians imprisoned in Egypt for seven weeks was announced late Sunday night, but John Greyson and Dr. Tarek Loubani have since been prevented from leaving the country.
Greyson’s sister Cecilia Greyson said the two men are free, released from jail without conditions, and are doing well.
They were with consular officials in a safe location in Cairo Monday morning when she heard from them. She expects the pair will be back in Canada by the weekend.
Egypt Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Badr Abdelatty said the public prosecutor released the two men from detention, but they must remain in the country while the investigation continues.
“The investigation is still going on, and then the investigative judge should decide the next step: whether to refer them to the court or to close the whole investigation…and then they would be free to leave the country,” Abdelatty said in a phone interview.
Abdelatty stressed the distinction that Greyson and Loubani were arrested under Egypt’s penal code, rather than the country’s “state of emergency” laws.
It’s an important distinction, he explained, as the latter only allows individuals to be arrested – not charged. By being taken into custody under the penal code, their fate rests in the hands of the judiciary proceedings.
Greyson’s sister said she would be surprised if the men were sent back to prison, where the pair had been held since Aug. 16, suggesting in a CBC interview Monday morning it would be an “unwise strategy in terms of diplomatic relations.”
Her response came after a CBC report suggested the men may be forced to delay their departure until charges against 600 others arrested with them have been decided.
Amnesty International Secretary-General Alex Neve said the unknown charges related to the hundreds of other detainees is of ongoing concern.
“Restricting their right to leave, restricting their right to travel, is a restriction on their liberty and that does raise human rights concerns,” Neve told Global News in Ottawa. “It can’t be done arbitrarily, it has to be done on the basis of solid legal grounds…and all of that seems very unclear right now.”
Neve added that this case is reflective of a “very serious human rights situation in Egypt right now” and that Canadians involved in humanitarian work, medical care or human rights work in foreign countries that are in turmoil should be aware of risks.
In a statement Monday afternoon, Foreign Affairs said it looks forward to seeing Loubani and Greyson “return home shortly.”
“We are aware of possible bureaucratic complications but Canadian officials continue to work tirelessly to facilitate Dr. Loubani and Mr. Greyson’s departure from Egypt,” said the statement from Adria Minsky, spokesperson for Canada’s Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Consular) Lynne Yelich.
The two Canadians tried to board a plane to Frankfurt, Germany on Sunday, but were prevented when their names were on a “stop-list” issued by prosecutors, according to a report from The Associated Press citing anonymous airport officials.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said despite the delay in their return to Canada, he believes the pair will be home soon.
Video: Stephen Harper believes released Canadian’s inability to leave Egypt is a “bureaucratic issue.”
“It’s now our view at the moment, based on what we know, that this is just a case of lack of clarity and co-ordination within the bureaucracy,” Harper told a media briefing in Nusa Dua, Indonesia where he is attending the Asia-Pacific leaders summit.
“So we’re optimistic it will be resolved in the very near future, but obviously we’ll continue to focus on this until it is resolved and we see these Canadians back in the country,” he said.
Greyson and Loubani were arrested Aug. 16 during violent anti-government demonstrations in Cairo.
Abdelatty said both men were arrested in front of a mosque in the capital city’s downtown area.
He said the al-Fath mosque was the staging of a violent sit-in, where armed people inside the mosque opened fire on security forces.
Though Abdelatty said the Canadians were not discharging firearms, items in their possession at the time of their arrest suggest they may have been inside the mosque when the event unfolded.
Officials seized a memory stick containing “video clips with some materials inside the mosque,” in addition to “high sophisticated telecommunications equipment” such as a satellite phone and helicopter “drone,” Abdelatty said.
“We were carrying portable camera gear (one light, one microphone, John’s HD Canon, two Go-Pros) and gear for the hospital (routers for a much-needed wifi network and two disassembled toy-sized helicopters for testing the transportation of medical samples),” Greyson and Loubani wrote in an open letter a week before their release.
Greyson and Loubani were passing through Egypt to cross into Gaza for a humanitarian mission.
The men were detained in what they called “ridiculous” conditions, with “no phone calls, little to no exercise…sleeping like sardines on concrete with the cockroaches, sharing a single tap of earthy Nile water.”
READ MORE: Who are John Greyson and Tarek Loubani?
With files from Jennifer Tryon and Kam Razavi
Comments