Maghreb Edition

Egypt: Canadian national held in custody in Egypt on unknown chargesF

Posted On 24 February 2019

Number of times this article was read : 272

Feb 24, 2019 – A Canadian citizen has been arrested in Egypt, his family has told public news network CBC, asking that Ottawa secure his release. Yasser Ahmed Albaz, a 51-year-old engineer who was in Egypt on business, was stopped and questioned as he was about to board a plane back to Canada last Monday, according to CBC. His passport was confiscated and an agent told him he was the subject of an investigation, the family said, according to the report.

Albaz was able to text a friend to let him know he had been arrested by the Egyptian security services, but he has not been heard from since, according to the report. The Canadian Foreign Ministry is aware that a Canadian citizen has been arrested in Egypt, spokesman Richard Walker said in an email to AFP.

He said consular services have been provided and officials were in contact with the local authorities to obtain more information, adding that privacy laws prevented him saying more. A daughter of Albaz, Amal, told CBC she feared for her father’s safety and asked Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland to intervene. Originally from Egypt, the Albaz family has lived in Canada for two decades, according to the CBC.

By AFP

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