Egypt's former prime minister and 2012 presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq was officially removed from travel ban and arrival watch lists on Monday, said Shafiq's lawyer Dina Hussein. On 16 November, a Cairo criminal court ruled to remove Shafiq from the arrival watch list. The court decision was executed on Monday by the prosecutor general, Hussein said in a press statement. Shafiq was placed on travel ban and arrival watch lists in late 2012 while under investigation for corruption charges. The former prime minister was later acquitted in court of all charges. Shafiq headed Egypt's civil aviation ministry from 2002 to 2011. He was appointed prime minister by ex-president Hosni Mubarak during the 2011 January uprising, but was forced to resign under public pressure in late February 2011. In June 2012, he narrowly lost in the final round of the presidential election to Islamist candidate Mohamed Morsi, who was himself ousted from the presidency in 2013. Since then, the 74-year-old has resided in the UAE, citing "personal safety concerns."
