The Ministry of Foreign Affairs met with representatives of relatives of Egyptian fishermen detained in Sudan Tuesday to discuss the latest updates on their situation. The ministry said the meeting was held upon a request from the families of the detainees to reassure them on the situation of their relatives, according to the ministry's spokesperson's statement. The ministry assured it is giving the maximum effort in coordination with Sudanese authorities to secure the fishermen's release and return to their homes. The 101 fishermen, from Al-Matariya town in the Daqahleya governorate, were detained by the Sudanese authorities in April. They were on board of three fishing boats that were heading to Eritrea, according to the independent fishermen association in Al-Matariya. The fishermen were arrested on grounds of infiltrating into the Sudanese territorial waters which the fishermen claim did not happen. Port Sudan court sentenced the fishermen to between one to six months in prison in addition to a fine of 5,000 Sudanese pounds (EGP 6,636), followed by a two-year prison sentence for not paying the fines. Taha El-Sheridy, leader of the independent Matariya Fishermen Association in Daqahliya, told Daily News Egypt Wednesday that the ministry's spokesman, Badr Abdelatty, connected the family representatives with the Egyptian ambassador to Sudan and the counsel in Port Sudan who said there will be alleviation in the crisis within the upcoming week. "I'm not optimistic," El-Sheridy said, adding that a similar promise was made by the government three weeks ago. On Tuesday, families of the fishermen demonstrated outside the press syndicate headquarters in Cairo, a landmark spot for protests, demanding an intervention by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to have the fishermen return home.
