CAIRO: Saudi police arrested the man who shot Egyptian doctor Mohamed Hany last week in the United Arab Emirates for allegedly misdiagnosing a family member.
“The Egyptian consulate in Jeddah contacted the Saudi authorities right away. They asked them for a full report and urged them to take all the necessary measures to ensure the safety of all Egyptian doctors working at the hospital, Ambassador Mohamed Abdel Hakam, deputy minister of foreign affairs for consulates, said on Egynews.net.
Hany was transferred to King Fahd City Hospital and is currently in the intensive care unit.
The Saudi man had accused Hany of misdiagnosing a relative who he suspected carried the H1N1 virus. The patient died shortly after his family moved him to another hospital.
Human rights activists have said that if the perpetrator is not arrested, interrogated and justice is served then it will be a violation of the victim’s rights and they will intervene if legal action isn’t taken.
“If justice is not served then this could be a case of discrimination against the Egyptian doctor as a foreigner or it could be looked at as an exploitation of migrant workers, which are violations of human rights, said Gamal Eid, executive director of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information.
So far all the legal procedures are being followed as the man who shot Hany is currently being interrogated and the Egyptian consulate in Jeddah and Riyadh is following up with Saudi authorities.
The Doctors’ Syndicate also said that if legal measures are not taken against the perpetrator, then it will be a violation against Hany as an Egyptian doctor and this will force the syndicate to intervene, explained Hamdy El-Sayyed, head of the Doctors’ Syndicate.
According to Hossam Bahgat, chairman of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, in 2003 Egypt became bound by an international treaty at the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers, which places a higher legal obligation on the government to protect the rights of Egyptian migrant workers abroad.
The treaty, which was enforced in July 2003, is meant to prevent the exploitation of migrant workers and put an end to the illegal or clandestine recruitment and trafficking of migrant workers. In addition, it sets out to provide a framework for their welfare and safeguards their rights.
