The wife of Ahmed al-Gizawy, an Egyptian lawyer detained in Saudi Arabia over charges of drug smuggling, said she has lost contact with her husband since he wrote a letter saing he did not confess to the charges brought against him by Saudi authorities.
In the published statement, Gizawy said that he was being subjected to torture.
Shahenda al-Gizawy told Al-Masry Al-Youm on Monday that the last thing she heard was that her husband was in solitary confinement.
She said that a ruling will be issued in the case this week, adding that she did not know which day.
She also said she did not know what the charges brought against him were exactly, adding that even Yasser Olwany, legal advisor to the Egyptian Consulate in Jeddah, cannot meet her husband or talk to him.
She called on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and the Foreign Ministry to intervene, saying that time is running out and her husband could face the death penalty.
Meanwhile, the Journalists Syndicate Freedoms Committee organized a conference for the families of Egyptians detained in Saudi Arabia on Monday at the syndicate headquarters.
Ashmawy Youssef, the head of the Association for the Families of Egyptians Detained Overseas, said the cases are ongoing, particularly since Egyptian officials are ignoring them.
He added that the information they receive indicates that their sons are being exposed to different forms of torture in Saudi prisons and do not face clear charges.
Youssef accused the Egyptian Foreign Ministry of negligence and emphasized that the association approached the Interior Ministry more than once to help release Egyptians who are detained for unclear charges, but the ministry did not respond.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
