Fishermen deported two days ago from Libya say they were beaten and mistreated by Libyan authorities. The fishermen, who were detained in Libya for nine months, have returned to their homes in Borg Megheizel village in Kafr al-Sheikh. Sami Ibrahim, one of the fishermen, said that in February he was on board a boat with 16 other fishermen on their regular fishing route when the boat drifted into Libyan waters and around 200 Libyans starting firing in their direction. The fishermen were arrested and detained for nine months, during which time they were mistreated, beaten and humiliated, he said. Ibrahim added that they had to buy food at their own expense and were only released after Kafr al-Sheikh Governor Ahmed Zaki Abdeen paid a LE5000 fine for each of the fishermen. If the fine had not been paid, the fishermen would have remained in custody for another six months, according to Ibrahim. The Egyptian embassy in Libya dispatched a car to drive the fishermen to the Egyptian border where they were taken into Egyptian custody and referred to the prosecution in Matrouh, which decided to release the fishermen on bail, Ibrahim added. The bail was set at LE110 and paid by a fisherman in Matrouh, he said. Ahmed Nassar, the head of a charity organization concerned with fishermen in Kafr al-Sheikh, called for holding a meeting that brings together boatmen, workers and experts in the field to examine ways to resolve the problems of fishermen. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit yesterday sent a memorandum to his Libyan counterpart requesting the release of those Egyptian fishermen who continue to be held in Libya. Abul Gheit called on fishermen syndicates and companies that own ships to exercise caution, warning that entering territorial waters leads to problems for both fishermen and their country. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
