Cairo follows up conditions of Egyptian prisoners in Saudi Arabia

CAIRO - 13 February 2020: The Egyptian General Consulate in Saudi Arabia visited three prisons to follow up the conditions of some Egyptian expatriates who serve time in Saudi prisons, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Hafez in a statement on Thursday.

In January 2020, consulate officials and representatives visited Dhahban Central Prison, where they interviewed ten Egyptian prisoners. They also met with 39 other Egyptian inmates at Abha Prison, and 42 others in Khamis Mushayt Prison, Hafez added.

Hafez affirmed that the Egyptian diplomats worldwide organize regular visits to Egyptians who serve time in other countries to follow up their conditions and meet their needs.

In February 2019, Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud issued a royal decree to release a number of the Egyptians imprisoned in Saudi Arabia in different cases, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The official number of Egyptian prisoners in Saudi Arabia has not been announced by Saudi Arabia or Egypt. However, it was reported in 2013 that Egypt announced that the number was about 1,000 inmates.