CAIRO: Twenty suspected French Islamists have been expelled from Egypt over the past month after being detained in the wake of the Al-Hussein bombing last February, AFP reported Saturday.
A locally-made bomb exploded under a bench near Al-Hussein mosque Feb. 22 injuring 23 and causing the death of a 17-year-old French student.
Another canister was exploded in a controlled demolition by authorities.
Seven people have been arrested in connection with the bombing, two Egyptians (identified as Ahmed Mohammed Siddiq and Khaled Mahmoud Mustapha), two Palestinians, a British man of Egyptian descent (identified as Hazem Mustapha Ibrahim), a Belgian of Tunisian descent and a French woman of Algerian descent.
Ibrahim’s lawyer Mamdouh Ismail told the Daily Telegraph last Thursday that the whereabouts of his client were unknown since he was arrested at Cairo airport on March 21.
“We don t know where he is. He is being held by state security, and he has not yet been submitted to the prosecution for questioning, Ismail said, adding that Ibrahim was in Cairo to attend his brother’s funeral and had no connection with the bombing.
A statement by the Ministry of Interior claimed that the seven were arrested while in possession of weapons and ammunition, which is at odds with Ismail’s claim that his client was arrested at Cairo airport a month after the bombing.
“About 20 French Muslims detained as part of the investigation into the Cairo attack in February that cost the life of a French girl have been expelled, little by little, an unnamed security official told AFP.
He added that no charges were brought against them, but they were expelled for their religious leanings, which Egypt considered extremist.
“They are either suspects or innocents, there is no third option, Islamist groups expert at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies Diaa Rashwan told Daily News Egypt, “it doesn’t seem like they will be investigated in France, so the matter is quite vague.
“A certain number of French nationals were detained along with other foreigners [and were] asked to leave Egypt at their own expense and without any legal case, a French consular official told AFP.
The local press reported Sunday that the state security investigations of the Hussein suspects had revealed that the foreign detainees had received military training in the Gaza strip.
It also said that the two Palestinians had entered Egypt illegally through the tunnels beneath the border. Additionally, the newspaper claimed they were in possession of major weaponry including anti-tank missiles.
These claims were ridiculed by Rashwan, who questioned the notion that a group in possession of such advanced weaponry would carry out the low-tech attack in Al-Hussein.
“The [explosive] canister was amateurish he said, “It wouldn’t have killed anyone if it hadn’t been placed under a marble bench, so how can they claim that they received advanced training and possessed such weaponry?
They didn’t even claim this about the Sinai bombings which were much more lethal.
