The Foreign Ministry said the Egyptian Embassy in Beirut is closely following up on the case of an Egyptian physician, Mohamed Magdy Osman, who was arrested at the Beirut airport for allegedly possessing a communication device not allowed in Lebanon.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the ministry added that the embassy is communicating with Lebanese authorities to gather information about the incident and help release the doctor as soon as possible.
The Cairo-based Arab Doctors Union on Sunday issued a statement to call for the release of the doctor, whom it said was referred for military trial for possessing equipment with direct satellite communication. The statement added that the device is legal in several countries.
The statement cited the doctor’s family as saying that he was arrested upon arrival from London on 8 September at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport, carrying a device that gives internet access through satellite communication in areas that do not have internet service.
The statement said such devices are not allowed into Lebanon.
The union condemned the arrest and described it as illegal and arbitrary. It also called for an apology and added that a lawyer had been assigned to follow up on the case.
The independent Youm7 news website said that dozens of people staged a protest in front of the presidential palace on Monday, calling on President Mohamed Morsy to intervene to release the doctor, who was reportedly on a trip to treat displaced people at the Lebanon-Syria border.
Edited translation from MENA
