Arrested Poles in Egypt released
PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle
27.08.2013 08:14
Polish journalist Marcin Mamon and translator Przemyslaw Szewczyk, arrested by police in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, have been released, Poland's foreign ministry has informed.
Egyptian soldier: photo - PAP/EPA/KHALED ELFIQI
“Our citizens detained in Alexandria are already fee,” tweeted Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on Monday evening.
“Thank you @ PLinEgypt [Polish Embassy in Cairo] for their efficiency. Again, we strongly recommend against travelling to Egypt,” Sikorski added after journalist and documentary filmmaker Marcin Mamon and his translator Przemyslaw Marek Szewczyk were released by police after being arrested on the streets of Egypt's second largest city and detained in jail while being handcuffed.
Tweet from Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski
The Foreign Ministry in Warsaw also released a statement saying: “Thanks to the efforts of the Polish embassy, particularly Ambassador Piotr Puchta and his talks with the governor of Alexandria, which succeeded at approximately 19.00 hrs in the release of Poles seized 20 hours earlier on the streets of Alexandria,” ministry spokesman Marcin Bosacki said.
Bosacki said that though the two Poles are scheduled to return to face a court hearing in the future, “the Poles do not have to participate in it."
“If they want to they can return home,” Bosaccki adds.
The reason for the arrest of Marcin Mamon, in Egypt making a film on the conflict and unrest enveloping the country, remains unclear, though it was probably that he and his translator ventured onto the streets of Alexandria after a curfew was announced. (pg)