Ahmed Kelani, lawyer of the families of the victims of "Badr 1" ship, which disappeared on January 12, 2008, said he would file a complaint to the Public Prosecutor to know the destiny of the report he filed 45 days ago to the Attorney General in Suez, who, in turn, submitted it to the First Attorney General in Ismailia. Kelani added no investigations have been launched in this regard so far. The victims' families threatened to stage a sit-in before the Foreign Ministry if the ministry did not announce the place of their relatives.
Speaking to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Kelani said he would file a report to President Mubarak in his capacity as the first responsible for the protection of the Egyptian people, according to the Constitution. The President has to use his powers to uncover the mystery surrounding the fate of the ship's crew, either inside the Egyptian territorial waters or in the neighboring countries.
Al-Masry Al-Youm met with the families of the missing crew. The families said they have no hope to see their relatives again after all official bodies made no effort to search for the ship. They said they filed a lawsuit against the Foreign Ministry because it was just an onlooker.
Islam Sabri, son of the ship's captain Mohamed Sabri Batouti, said the government would have left no stone unturned to search for the ship if it had had French or German or American citizens, who are respected by their governments. Instead of taking an action, the Egyptian government imposed a news blackout.
The ship, carrying nine Egyptians, four Sudanese and a Yemeni, left the Port of Adabiya, Suez governorate, on January 9, 2009, with a 1700-ton cargo.
