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UK: Mums the word about Egyptian extradition requests until arrest orders are issued The British government says that it will stay silent on which political figures Egypt has asked be extradited from the UK
Home office legal advisers in the UK refused to answer even general questions about whether Cairo has already requested to extradite any former Mubarak regime officials living on British soil. A former finance minister for Egypt, Dr Youssef Botrous Ghali, fled to the UK after Egypt's January 25 Revolution, which toppled the 30-long stranglehold of ousted president Mubarak's regime. Ghali has been convicted in Egypt of corruption and sentenced to tens of years in prison. Reports say that another former regime figure, trade and industry minister, Rashid Mohamed Rashid, lived in the UK for a while after he fled from Egypt. He has been also sentenced to prison after being convicted of fraud in Egypt. Upon Egyptian request, the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) issued earlier this year an international Red Notice to arrest Ghali and Rashid for extradition to Egypt. However, a Home Office spokesman told Ahram Online “We are not talking about any extradition requests until an arrest order is issued.“ “Our legal advisers advised us against talking publicly about extradition requests,” he added when asked why the British government keeps silent on the issue. “We do not want to alert the persons any foreign countries request to extradite,” the spokesman argued. The extradition process in the UK is very complicated. Although a bilateral extradition treaty can help accelerate the process, there is no such bilateral treaty between Egypt and the UK. To establish one could take years. The UK Home Office can, however, look into any Egyptian request within “special arrangements.” “Talking publicly can endanger an investigation into extradition request. It could alert the target person,” spokesman concluded.
