Parliament Member: Egyptian Interior Minister Directs Release of Yemenis Detained on “Currency Possession” Charges
Yemen Monitor/Cairo/Special:
Egyptian Member of Parliament Mustafa Bakri said on Tuesday that the Minister of Interior has directed the release of all Yemenis accused of “currency possession” and the investigation of complaints submitted by them, after the Yemeni embassy in Cairo stated that it is a systematic campaign against it and against the Egyptian authorities.
Mustafa Bakri said on his official account on the X platform: “Thank you to Mr. Mahmoud Tawfik, the Minister of Interior, who issued instructions to investigate the complaints of our Yemeni brothers and release all those detained in connection with what was called currency trading.”
He added: “Many of them are innocent, and all the dollar amounts they had were either for treatment or for living expenses.”
He continued: “The Minister has asked to resolve the cases of all those against whom no charges have been proven.”
This came hours after a statement by the Yemeni embassy in Cairo, which said: “These seemingly targeted campaigns and the obedience of some to them without knowledge of their malicious intentions, which aim to distort the image of the embassy and disturb the peace of Yemeni citizens residing in and visiting the Arab Republic of Egypt for purposes of medical tourism, education, or transit, amount to incitement against them and a serious offense to the Yemeni-Egyptian bilateral relations.”
Numerous complaints had been received from Yemenis about the abuses of police stations and security forces in searching and imprisoning them on charges of “possession of foreign currency,” even if the amount was small; most of these individuals were companions of patients in hospitals.
