Publishers at the 40th Cairo International Book Fair said on Wednesday that the authorities had allowed them to sell a number of Western and secular books that were forbidden only two days ago.
Nabil Nofal from the Lebanese publishing house Dar Al-Adab said, We have received all of our books that were confiscated, including four works by renowned Czech author Milan Kundera.
Germany s Al-Jamal publishers said the authorities had returned copies of Moroccan author Mohamed Choukri s For Bread Alone, which contains references to teenage sex and drug use and is banned in several Arab countries.
Other publishers also said their books had been released from customs at Cairo airport.
As with the seizure of the books on Monday, no explanation was given as to why the authorities had now allowed the books to be put on display.
The Cairo International Book Fair, the Arab world s largest, is dominated by Islamist and educational works, an AFP correspondent reported.
Egypt s State Information Service says that the book fair has over the past years become a great cultural event, and a spacious scene for conducting dialogue among intellectuals, men of letters and artists. -AFP
