CAIRO: The Saudi Arabian authorities arrested an Egyptian lawyer upon arrival at Jeddah International Airport, according to Egyptian activists quoting his wife, who was present at the time he was arrested, and according to a report by the International Human Rights Organization, “Al Karama” or “Dignity”. The Organization said that Saudi authorities arrested the Egyptian lawyer and human rights activist, Ahmed Mohamed Tharwat Abdul Wahab, also known as “El Gizawi”, on Tuesday, April 17, upon his arrival at Jeddah International Airport, where he was accompanied by his wife and a number of friends on their way to perform the rituals of Umrah. The organization explained in a statement that El Gizawi, traveled with his wife Shahenda Fathi, to perform Umrah after obtaining the entry visa from the Saudi Embassy in Cairo, easily and without any significant problems. But that the authorities arrested him and allowed his wife and friends entry, and said that the activist was referred to the Saudi judicial authorities in Jeddah, which issued a sentence against him in absentia without notifying him. The organization pointed out that El Gizawi has already filed against the Saudi authorities at the South Cairo Court where he accused it of arbitrary detention and torture against a large number of Egyptian citizens working in Saudi Arabia without legal proceedings. He also demanded their release and their compensation for the violation of their rights and torture inflicted upon them in the Saudi prisons. The reports about El Gizawi detention caused shock and ire amongst human rights activists, politicians, members of the parliament, and social networking websites users on Monday, where a large number of Egyptian activists on Facebook and Twitter called for staging a protests in front of the Saudi Embassy in Cairo on Tuesday April 24, in protest to the Saudi authorities' decision to sentence El Gizawi to one year imprisonment and 20 lashes after accusing him of defaming the Saudi King in previous interviews aired on Egyptian satellite channels. Dr. Mustafa al-Naggar, a member of parliament, said he made an urgent statement to the People`s Assembly on Monday, about the arrest of the Egyptian lawyer, to determine the circumstances of the incident and quickly intervene to release him, asserting that violating the dignity of any Egyptian is an insult to the dignity of the homeland. For its part, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry Confirmed that the FM Mohammed Kamel Amr, is following up the issue, according to a statement by the Spokesman of the Ministry Ambassador Amr Roshdy, on Monday. He said that the FM has issued instructions to the Egyptian embassy in Riyadh and the Egyptian consulate in Jeddah, to hold high level talks, to be informed on the legal status of the detainee's and the reasons for his detention and ways to provide legal assistance to secure his release.
