CAIRO: The saga of Mamdouh Fahmi, the 42-year-old Egyptian physician who has been unable to leave Suadi Arabia for 14 months, came to an abrupt end when he was granted an exit visa and returned home Wednesday night. Contrary to media reporters, Engineer Michel Fahmi, the physician s brother, told Daily News Egypt that Mamdouh Fahmi got his exit-return visa illegally from an Indian residing in Saudi Arabia. Mamdouh was in contact with an Indian man who lives in Saudi Arabia through some cyber chat-rooms for some time now, he said. A few days ago, the man told him that he s capable of producing exit visas, and wondered if he d like to purchase one. He did and returned home right away. Michel Fahmi said his brother purchased the visa for the exact sum of 1,100 Saudi riyals from the Indian man. Mamdouh Fahmi, a general surgeon, moved to Saudi Arabia in 2004 on contract with a small Saudi clinic. He was accused by his co-workers of allegedly spreading the teachings of Christianity and disrespecting Islam. He was arrested in April 2005, and released without bail. All charges against him were dropped, but he was unable to leave the country because his passport was misplaced. He did not know whether authorities had seized his passport or if the owner of the clinic was withholding it from him. During his stay, Mamdouh Fahmi was also charged with 20 whips by the Saudi court after he was involved in a squabble with his former co-worker Dr. Abdel Fatah Sayed Ahmed. In a previous interview, Mamdouh Fahmi told Daily News Egypt that he s been surviving through donations he received from several Copts living abroad in addition to the contributions granted to him by human rights organizations. He has not been able to find work since he first tried to return to Egypt 14 months ago. The Saudi authorities refused to issue him an exiting visa for no disclosed reason after he filed several requests and complaints. However, he stressed, My problem is with my colleagues, not with the Saudi government. His co-workers accused him of insulting Islam and their practices, preaching Christianity to some of the Muslim nurses and consuming alcohol in public. They also claimed he convinced a nurse, Souad Mohammed, to convert to Christianity. However, in a phone interview with the Coptic Newscast online radio station, Mohammed said [Fahmi] never preached anything to me and called her colleagues accusations complete lies. Naguib Gobraiel, Fahmi's lawyer and head of the Egyptian Union of Human Rights Organization, was scheduled to meet with the Saudi Ambassador to Egypt Hesham El Nazer two weeks ago to find a way bring Fahmi home. According to Gobraiel, El Nazer postponed the meeting several times and it never took place. Gobraiel was also scheduled to meet with Ambassador Ahmad Al Ousni, the foreign minister s assistant for foreign workers affairs, to discuss the latest development in the case. Fahmi told Daily News Egypt that the ministry hasn t been helpful or co-operative enough with him. When I was imprisoned for seven days after the fight, I tried to call the Egyptian embassy, but no one responded to me, Fahmi said. They didn t assign me a lawyer during the trial and the embassy refused requests to solve my problem by speaking with any high-ranking officials on the Saudi side. Michel Fahmi said that his brother's predicament ended because he was able to obtain an informal visa. We [Fahmi s family] would like to express our deep gratitude to everyone who worked hard to end our crises, including Gobraiel, the Egyptian embassy, and Copts around the world and the media, he said. But honestly speaking, the problem ended thanks to this visa and not because of anyone else. Gobrial, on the other hand, told Daily News Egypt that Fahmi arrived legitimately because of the pressure from the Egyptian Union of Human Rights Organization on the Saudi government, who eventually gave him back his passport. Gobrial also announced that he s intending to sue the Saudi government, the owner of the clink where Fahmi worked as well as the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal for 5 million riyals for the severe psychological damages they inflicted upon my client.
