Egyptian president urged to secure release of fishermen apprehended in Sudan
June 19, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - The Suez and Red Sea Fishermen Association
(SRFA) on Friday has asked president Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi to interfere
to secure the release of 101 Egyptian fisherman detained by the
Sudanese authorities since April.
Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir (L) farewells Egyptian president
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) as he departs Khartoum on 27 June 2014
(Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)
Earlier in April, 108 Egyptian fishermen who were bound to Eritrea
aboard three ships but were arrested near the port city of Port Sudan
over the allegation of encroaching into Sudanese waters. Seven of
those, six minors and an elderly, were later released.
A Sudanese court fined twenty-nine of the men 5,000 pound SDG each and
sentenced them to two years in jail in case of failure to pay.
Fifty-Nine other fishermen remain in Sudanese custody and their fate
is not yet clear.
In September 2012, the Sudanese army said it released dozens of
Egyptian fishermen in exchange for 112 Sudanese miners apprehended by
the Egyptian authorities for crossing the borders while they were
searching for gold.
Ali al-Gunaidi, the chairman of the board of the SRFA, said that time
has come for the intervention of the president away from the
diplomatic efforts.
Meanwhile, 24 Sudanese traditional miners who unknowingly crossed the
borders in search for gold are still in custody in Almenia Al-Gadida,
Aswan and Al-Wadi Al-Jadid.
Their families say they went astray while searching for their
colleagues who died in the desert.