Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hossam Zaki on Tuesday accused unidentified "dubious organizations" of spreading rumors on the detention of Eritreans in Sinai by smuggling groups. Hossam Zaki said these rumors are propagated by the media and aim to stir up public opinion in European countries. “It's strange," Zaki said. "The Foreign Minister declared days ago that authorities in question are following this issue and that no positive facts supporting these media rumors were found.” “We called on whoever has any information to present it to the Egyptian authorities, but no one ever presented any information, so what shall we do? The issue seems to be more than media rumors; it seems to be spread many suspicious organizations.” Zaki described the reports as “fabrications” that also aim to influence Egypt's methods of dealing with illegal immigration and human trafficking. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) last week urged Egypt to release 250 illegal Eritrean migrants that, it believes, have been under traffickers' custody in a mountainous area near the Egyptian-Israeli border. The UN watchdog claimed the refugees are being kept in containers and harassed by their captors. It added that traffickers are demanding a ransom of US$8000 for each person from the migrants' relatives. But Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit on Saturday said Egypt had no knowledge of the reports. The Ministry of Interior, which has ongoing contact with his ministry, is also in the dark, he added.
