Egypt has not asked Turkey to arrest former Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid, who traveled to Istanbul last Wednesday, Turkish sources have said. Egypt and Turkey are not bound by agreements to extradite suspects in criminal or political cases, the sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm. Cairo Criminal Court on Tuesday sentenced Rachid in absentia to five years for squandering public funds. He was also sentenced in an earlier trial to five years for embezzlement. Rachid and his family, who arrived in Istanbul for the wedding of his niece, were given a broad welcome at the Ataturk Airport, the sources said. One source said officials at the Egyptian Embassy in Istanbul have not reached out to negotiate Rachid's arrest. Meanwhile, Ahmed Abdel Aal, a cultural adviser at the Egyptian Embassy in Turkey, said he was not aware that Rachid was in the country. He added that only Abdel Rahman Salah, the Egyptian Ambassador to Turkey, can say if the Egyptian government requested the extradition of Rachid. A meeting between the Egyptian and Turkish foreign ministers two days ago probably addressed Rachid's presence in Turkey, other sources said. Translated from the Arabic Edition
