Egypt Releases 37 Sudanese Prisoners

Thirty-seven Sudanese detainees were released from prison in Egypt on Friday following an order earlier this month by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, the Egyptian interior ministry said in a statement.

The Sudanese nationals will be sent back to Sudan on a specially chartered plane.

On 6 August, Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir ordered the release of 101 Egyptian fishermen who had been detained in Port Sudan since April for trespassing in Sudanese waters.

The men were subsequently released and returned to Egypt.

Shortly after Al-Bashir’s order, El-Sisi issued a release order for 44 Sudanese miners who had been imprisoned in Egypt for crossing into the country illegally.

Thirty-seven of the men were released on Friday; the fate of the other seven was not immediately clear.

Al-Bashir’s decision came following intense negotiations between the Egyptian and Sudanese governments over the fate of the fishermen.

However, on Saturday a new group of Egyptian fishermen were arrested in Sudan for allegedly trespassing in its waters.

Sources in the Egyptian city of Al-Qusayr on the Red Sea coast, where the fishermen are from, told Al-Ahram Arabic website that four Egyptian boats carrying at least 12 fishermen had been fishing near the town of Shalateen in Egyptian waters.

The fishermen are being detained pending investigation.

Source : Ahram online