The owners of ten fishing boats from the Borg Megheizel village in Kafr al-Sheikh urged President Mubarak to pressure his Libyan counterpart, Muammar Qaddafi, to return their seized boats. Libya has held most of the boats for nine months. Some of the vessels, however, have been in Libyan custody for three years, according to the fishermen.
Two boat owners claim the Libyan coast guard fired on their vessels and sank them. The fishermen are demanding compensation.
The Egyptians said they were on their regular fishing route when their boats drifted to the Libyan coast, at which point they were apprehended by Libyan authorities.
Seventy Egyptian fishermen are detained in Libyan prisons today in addition to the ten seized boats.
Boat owner Essam al-Shami said his vessel has been held in Libya’s Benghazi Port since 29 March. Only three of the boat’s 15 crew members have been released.
Al-Shami said one Tunisian and two Italian boats were held over similar incidents but were released immediately after their embassies intervened. Al-Shami complained that the Egyptian Embassy has not offered adequate assistance in these cases.
Awad al-Hanafi, another fisherman, said his boat has been held in Libya’s Ras Lanuf Port since 14 February, 2007 despite a Libyan court ruling that ordered its release.
Ahmed Nassar, the head of a fisherman association, urged Mubarak to persuade Qaddafi to solve their problem, suggesting the formation of a joint Egyptian-Libyan committee to examine this issue.
Egyptian fishermen routinely take to the Libyan coast for its plentiful waters.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
