The families of Egyptians who have been detained in United Arab Emirates called on Emirati ruler Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Emirati Prime Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashed al-Maktoum to release them.
In a joint press conference held Wednesday at the Sawaseya Center for Human Rights and Combating Terrorism, the families called on President Mohamed Morsy and Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr to intervene on behalf of the detainees.
"The detainees are 11 people, including doctors, engineers and a journalist. The first one was detained on 21 November. The others were arrested later," the families said in a statement.
Sawaseya Center head Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsoud said that the families will continue their efforts to win their release and would stage a protest in front of the Arab League headquarters in Cairo on Sunday, he added.
Abdel Maqsoud, who is also a Muslim Brotherhood lawyer, said, “The issue has no relation with the Brotherhood. It’s a case of citizens who worked in Emirates [and] their rights were wasted. We’re discussing the issue from a rights perspective. Whoever accuses them of affiliation with the Brotherhood should submit documents proving this.”
Emirati newspapers reported a few days ago that the detainees belonged to the Brotherhood and that they had been arrested for "security reasons." The UAE has not yet issued an official response.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
