Yasser al-Hambouly, who has been the subject of intense media attention since he fled prison in late January, managed to elude arrest once more on Monday after security forces in Upper Egypt located him.
Hambouly exchanged fire with police on Sunday in the Zaitiyaa district of Luxor Governorate, according to residents, but the fugitive managed to escape through a nearby field.
Hambouly, 37, escaped from Qena prison on 28 January with one of his relatives. He is accused of a killing a police officer, stealing weapons from the police and causing public disorder. He denies the charges.
According to security sources, police on Monday received information that Hambouly was hiding in a sugar cane field in the Zaitiyaa area, MENA reported on Monday.
Luxor police have come under heavy criticism for their failure to re-arrest Hambouly, whom they portray as a “dangerous gang leader.”
Members of his family at Ngaa al-Toraah village in Luxor have complained about the police mistreating them, arresting them in order to lure Hambouly out of hiding.
In early December, police broke into his house and arrested his 14-year-old son Heshmat.
Later, Luxor’s Security Directorate said that a police unit had surrounded the sugar cane field in which Hambouly was hiding. The announcement later turned out to be false.
