3 Gulf States issue royal pardons for 152 Egyptian prisoners

On the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, three Arab Gulf monarchies agreed to release 152 Egyptian prisoners from detention on Tuesday.

According to the state-owned Middle East News Agency (MENA), the states of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates issued pardons and reduced prison sentences — a customary gesture during religious holidays — encompassing a total of 152 incarcerated Egyptians.

The detainees include: 83 in Kuwait, 21 in Saudi Arabia, and 48 in the United Arab Emirates.

The Chief of Consular Affairs at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Ali al-Ashry, quoted by MENA, asserted that the pardons are in light of renewed diplomatic efforts with the Arab Gulf states. “These amnesties have been issued in light of exceptional relations between Egypt and its brethren,” he said. 

Since the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi by the Armed Forces, on July 3, 2013, these three Arab Gulf monarchies have been the chief benefactors of the Egyptian state. They are reported to have pledged over $US20 billion in grants, loans and petroleum products.

Renewed support for the Egyptian state has been promised since the announcement of the presidency of former military strongman, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on June 3.

There are few reliable statistics regarding the numbers of prisoners or political detainees being held without charge in the prisons of the Arab Gulf monarchies. The Islamic Human Rights Commission, and other rights groups, suggest that there may be up to 30,000 political detainees in the prisons of Saudi Arabia alone.

Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE all exercise capital punishment for serious felonies, and the latter two enforce corporal punishment in the form of floggings for both men and women.

Human rights organizations maintain that several hundreds of detainees remain locked-up in prisons without charge, often for months or years on end.

Questions abound regarding the fate of high profile Egyptian detainees languishing in Saudi prisons. Among them are lawyer Ahmed el-Gizawi, and businesswoman Nagla Wafa. It is not clear if they have been released or are still languishing behind bars.

In 2012, Gizawi was arrested upon his arrival for pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. Several months later he was sentenced to five years imprisonment and 300 lashes. He was accused of smuggling narcotic pills into the kingdom, yet his family and lawyer claim that his detention is linked to critical writings and legal efforts against the Saudi monarch and his ruling family.

As for Wafa, in 2012 she was sentenced to five years in prison and 500 floggings following a business disagreement with a Saudi Princess.

Despite protests staged outside Saudi diplomatic missions in Egypt for their release, both of these detainees have been subjected to hundreds of floggings. Many other detainees have recounted similar stories of corporal punishment and abuse whilst in detention.