The wife of Egyptian lawyer Ahmed al-Gizawy, who is detained in Saudi Arabia on drug-related charges, voiced her hope that President Mohamed Morsy will free her husband during his trip to the Gulf kingdom on Wednesday.
“Morsy is the only hope I have after God, I hope they will both come back on the same plane,” Shahinda Fathy told Al-Masry Al-Youm.
Gizawy was detained in April by Saudi authorities for drug possession, but Egyptian activists, who protested outside the Saudi embassy in Cairo, believe he was detained for criticizing the Kingdom’s treatment of prisoners.
Fathy told Al-Masry Al-Youm she expects Morsy will honor his pledge made through his spokesperson Yasser Ali, to intervene with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz for her husband’s release.
She said if Gizawy is not released before the holy month of Ramadan, which starts on 20 July, there will be fewer prospects for his return in the future.
In May, members of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, which Morsy chaired before his election, headed to Saudi Arabia to calm tensions that flared after Gizawy’s imprisonment.
On Monday, the Saudi newspaper Al-Madina said authorities had approved charges against Gizawy and that a date for his trial would be set.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
