Dozens of Egyptians staged a protest in front of the United Arab Emiratis’ (UAE) embassy in Giza on Tuesday demanding the release of 13 Egyptian detainees in custody for more than 20 days.
According to news reports, 13 Egyptians were arrested more than 20 days ago for no clear reason, including journalists, doctors and engineers.
Relatives of the detainees, activists and members of professional syndicates participated in the protest.
Security was tightened in the area around the embassy with three Central Security Forces trucks and a fire truck in the vicinity.
Mohamed Abdel Qoddous, head of the freedoms committee at the Journalists Syndicate, said that “arresting those Egyptians is inexplicable."
"The Emirati authorities must allow the Egyptian embassy, their relatives and lawyers to meet the detainees and defend them," he said.
In a press conference held by protesters, Qoddous demanded that the accusations leveled against the detainees be disclosed, and called for their immediate release.
Abdel Fattah Rizq, secretary general of Doctors Syndicate, said a delegation of syndicate members will set out to visit the detainees in the UAE to probe the reasons for their arrest.
Qutb Al-Arabi, assistant secretary general of the Supreme Press Council, said that some of the detainees have been working in the UAE with no records of violations, adding that some are over 60.
Salah al-Hadidy, representative of Engineers Syndicate, said they stand in solidarity with the detainees and "will not rest until they are released."
A number of syndicates called on Egyptian authorities Monday to investigate the issue, while the Egyptian side has been so far tight-lipped.
Edited translation from MENA
