Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee called on the United Kingdom to expedite the extradition of fugitive Egyptian criminals, especially former Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali and businessman Mamdouh Ismail, who was involved in death of more than 1,000 Egyptians who were on board the ferry Al-Salam 98 in 2006.
The committee, headed by Essam al-Erian, said in a statement Tuesday that it discussed the subject with the British ambassador to Egypt, James Watt, and demanded the return of Egyptian suspects who had court rulings issued against them.
An Egyptian court convicted Boutros-Ghali in absentia and sentenced him in June to 30 years in prison for profiteering and abusing state and private assets. In 2009, Ismail was sentenced in absentia to seven years imprisonment with hard labor. He fled the country shortly after being ordered to stand trial.
Erian also added that several Egyptians had bad accidents in the UK, such as the killing of an Egyptian doctor, Karim Assad, and actress Soad Hosny. However, investigations yielded no results.
The statement assured the UK that no one can violate freedom of expression and protest or prevent the formation of political parties and non-governmental organizations in Egypt.
The UK was also informed that the controversial NGO case is being reviewed by a court, the statement added.
