VANCOUVER – The two Canadians released from an Egyptian prison earlier this week are thanking those who supported them during their seven-week detention.
John Greyson and Tarek Loubani were arrested Aug. 16 amid violent clashes in Cairo and held without charges until Sunday.
“Fifty days inside, three days outside, we thought we’d say hi,” Toronto-based film maker Greyson said. “We’re very touched and overwhelmed. We’re just getting a sense now of all the incredible support that was there that came together from every corner –Canadians, people around the world, people here in Egypt – to make this day possible.”
Both men appeared to be in healthy condition and in good spirits in the video posted online Wednesday.
Although Canadian officials helped secure their release, the pair haven’t been able to leave the country.
READ MORE: Two Canadians released from Egyptian prison, not yet clear to fly
Egyptian authorities said Monday the investigation into their arrest and the arrests of hundreds of Egyptian protesters is still going on and Greyson and Loubani will be free to leave the country if the court decides to close the entire investigation.
They were among more than 600 people arrested that day and were alleged to have been involved in clashes between supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted President Mohammed Morsi.
Their release was also called for by members of the film and media industries, Canadian politicians, medical organizations and academics.
Among that support was an online campaign urging the Egyptian government to release them, signed by more than 149,800 people.
“Thank you. Thank you so much for all of your support. Thank you for all of your help. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us,” Loubani, the London, Ont. emergency doctor, said.
Greyson and Loubani said they were en route to Gaza, where Loubani planned to continue volunteer work at the Al-Shifa Hospital and Greyson was going to explore the possibility of making a film about the humanitarian project.
READ MORE: Who are John Greyson and Tarek Loubani?
They were unable to cross the border into the Palestinian Territory and returned to Cairo, where they went to check out the Ramses Square protests.
While there, gunfire was exchanged between Egyptian police and protesters.
The men said they witnessed more than 50 Egyptians die at the scene of the Aug. 16 clashes and did what they could to help the wounded.
They left the area and attempted to return to their hotel, when they were taken into custody at a police check point.
Loubani and Greyson said in an open letter, prior to their release, they were “arrested, searched, caged, questioned, interrogated, videotaped with a ‘Syrian terrorist’, slapped, beaten, ridiculed, hot-boxed, refused phone calls, stripped, shaved bald, accused of being foreign mercenaries.”
Badr Abdelatty, a spokesperson Egypt’s Foreign Ministry, told Global News the men were not discharging firearms, but 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 the open letter, posted online a week before their release.
*With files from Kam Razavi, Erika Tucker, Jennifer Tryon and The Canadian Press
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