Around 15 Egyptian women, flanked by dozens of riot policemen protested a few blocks from the Kuwaiti embassy in Cairo on Sunday over the deportation of around 21 Egyptian supporters of the former chief of the UN nuclear watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei by Kuwaiti authorities. The protestors, led by Gamila Ismail, the wife of opposition dissident Ayman Nour, were prevented from approaching the embassy as they chanted slogans against the Kuwaiti government. "At least 21 Egyptian expatriates have been deported so far, "said George Ishaq of the Association of Change Movement, which is urging the former UN nuclear chief to run for president in 2011. "Around another 20 Egyptians were still being detained in Kuwait said Ishaq," citing colleagues in Kuwait. It is the first time in years that Kuwait has deported groups of expatriate residents for political activity. Human Rights Watch quoted Kuwait's Interior Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Khaled al-Sabah as saying the Egyptians defied a ban on foreigners assembling without permission and engaged in slander by criticising the Egyptian President. "This makes the response of the Kuwaiti authorities even more concerning," said Heba Morayef of HRW. "(They) want to send a strong signal that they won't allow any meetings of this kind." HRW Sunday called on Kuwaiti authorities to stop arresting and deporting supporters of leading pro-reform Egyptian activist Mohamed ElBaradei. "Kuwait's state security forces should stop arresting and deporting expatriate supporters" of ElBaradei, the New York-based rights watchdog said in a statement. ElBaradei has been coy on whether he will run in upcoming elections, but has so far garnered support of prominent opposition figures for his campaign to reform the constitution and expand political participation. Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said Sunday that his ministry had nothing to do with the deportation of the Egyptians. "We can do nothing since these people violated the laws in Kuwait," Abul Gheit told a Kuwaiti newspaper from Washington to be published tomorrow. He added that he had no detailed information on the whole matter and that he preferred to get a full idea about what happened bofore talking about it. According to HRW, three Egyptian citizens were arrested after they attended a meeting in support of ElBaradei on April 8. Others were detained the following day when they gathered outside a supermarket to discuss the arrests. The wife of one of the deported Egyptian residents, Mohamed el-Farghally, told the rights group that her husband did not return after attending a small meeting of ElBaradei supporters at a local cafe. Amira al-Farghally said later that in the evening four men in plain clothes escorted her handcuffed husband home, where they seized T-shirts picturing ElBaradei and Egyptian flags. He was sent back to Egypt.
