Turkish authorities have released seven Egyptian fishermen captured after allegedly entering into Turkish national waters. Contacts by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry prompted the release, sources said. Mohamed Abdel Hakam, assistant foreign minister for consular affairs, on Monday said Turkey arrested seven seamen on board the Yasser al-Khedr on charges of unlicensed fishing. The Egyptian consulate in Ankara is working to complete deportation procedures for the apprehended fishermen, he added. Abdel Hakam urged all fishermen to avoid the national waters of other states and to respect international navigation treaties. Arrests of fishermen over illegal fishing have become frequent recently. In January, strong winds forced al-Amira Shabana, a Malta-bound boat, into Libyan waters. Fifteen crew members from the village of Borg al-Megeizal, Kafr al-Skeikh, were subsequently detained and then released in October. Fifteen sailors from the same village were detained off the Tunisian coast in August for illegal fishing. They were released five days later. In yet another incident, 28 fishermen were apprehended in Tunisian waters in October while en route to Malta. They were freed shortly after. Translated from the Arabic Edition
