Foreign minister meets families of detained fishermen in Sudan

Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry met with the families of over 100 detained Egyptian fishermen in Sudan on Monday. Shoukry assured the families that the ministry is working on releasing their relatives as soon as possible.

In an official statement, the ministry said that the government is dedicated to freeing the detained fishermen, who were arrested by Sudanese authorities in April for breaching territorial waters. It also added that the Ministry of Social Solidarity is working on providing compensation for the families until their relatives are released.

The case dates back April 7, when three Egyptian fishing boats were headed to Eretria, and Sudanese authorities arrested 101 fishermen on charges of breaching territorial waters and fishing illegally. The fishermen are all from a village in the northern governorate of Daqahlia.

Last week, a Sudanese court sentenced the fishermen to a month in prison, a jail term that ends on August 20. Head of the Fishermen Syndicate Bakry Aboul Hassan told Mada Masr that the Sudanese authorities ordered the release of the fishermen prior to the court ruling.

“The order was implemented and as the fishermen were heading to their boats to leave, they were arrested again and referred to trial. The ruling was issued on Friday, which was a holiday. This move indicates that the case is politicized,” he said.

Foreign Ministry officials and the Sudanese Embassy were not available for comment on the issue.

Hassan explained that the fishermen did not attempt to fish in Sudanese territorial waters, and were only sailing through on their way to Eretria.

Egyptian fishermen have a history of being detained by regional countries for breaching territorial waters while fishing. Just two days before the Egyptian fishermen were arrested in Sudan, 14 fishermen from the Kafr al-Sheikh governorate were freed after being detained in the Libyan city of Misrata. Another 17 fishermen were also detained in the Tunisian city of Sfax on similar charges.

Hassan explained that these cases are a result of the tough economic conditions Egyptian fishermen face. “What can we expect if pollution and poaching have reduced the number of fish in Egypt? Fishermen will definitely resort to regional waters,” he asserted.

Egyptian fishermen are meant to obtain official authorization to fish in territorial waters. These permits, however, are difficult to obtain. In many instances, brokers also sell fake documents to fishermen, which further endangers them.

“This is a huge catastrophe for the fishermen. Prison sentences being issued on weekends – this goes far beyond simply breaching territorial waters,” Aboul Hassan said.