Egypt's Islamic Group, or Gama'a Islamiya, said that the Saudi Arabian-Egyptian relations are “historic” and denounced the protests that led to the closing of the Saudi Embassy in Cairo. The group issued a statement Sunday night saying that the bilateral relations cannot be “reduced to a number of protests.” Hundreds of Egyptians continued to protest the detention of Egyptian human rights lawyer Ahmed al-Gizawi, who the Saudi authorities arrested on April 17 on his arrival to the kingdom and accused him of smuggling drugs. Egyptians refused the Saudi allegations, as Gizawi was a known fighter for the rights of Egyptians detained in Saudi and saw the arrest as retaliation for his activism. The political Islamic group, who denounced violence in the early 2000s, was responsible for many bloody massacres including the assassination of president Anwar al-Sadat. They have returned to practicing politics after the fall of the previous regime in early 2011. Their statement added that the crisis should be dealt with through diplomacy and urged the Egyptian side to practice transparency and reveal any information they might have on the case. The Egyptian embassy in Saudi have said that they have followed the Gizawi case and that they believe the Saudi allegations of drug smuggling, saying that they saw his signature on a confession of the crime. The embassy is being accused by Egyptians who live in Saudi with corruption and loyalty to the Saudi royal palace over the interests of Egyptian citizens, and many have called for the dissolving of the diplomatic mission there as they are remnants of the old regime.
