“France is very keen on the formation by the opposition of a transitional government that would give it full legitimacy and ensure democratic transition in Syria,” Hollande was quoted as having told reporters after meeting Saudi King Abdullah.
Tags: democratic transition, Saudi King Abdullah, transitional governmentArchive for Saudi King Abdullah
Sixty-one Egyptians in Saudi Arabia were held in a Jeddah prison for three months without being interrogated or referred to trial under the pretext that they violated residence laws.
The detainees included business owners, some of whom say they had residence permits.
A number of detainees told Al-Masry Al-Youm Wednesday that Saudi authorities arrested them along with other detainees and held them in prison until being deported to Egypt.
A member of the Egyptian consulate's staff in Jeddah met 12 detainees and took them out of the prison to deport them before returning them to prison 10 days later, they said.
Detainees Mahmoud Mohamed Ramadan, Nasser Abdel Fattah Youssef, Mohamed Qamhawy, Abdel Nasser Mowahed Mohamed, and Mohamed Ismail Mohamed called on the Egyptian authorities to intervene and end what they called a "tragedy."
They said they were detained in a cell that included about 700 prisoners of different nationalities, adding that they slept on the ground.
Mohamed Saad, another Egyptian who was detained, told Al-Masry Al-Youm he was a businessman in Saudi Arabia who had a residence permit.
On 17 August, Saad was arrested by the Saudi authorities before boarding the plane to spend Eid vacation in Egypt because he allegedly had not given airport authorities his fingerprints when he entered the country a few years ago.
In February, Saudi Ambassador to Cairo Ahmed al-Qattan said that there are 1,401 Egyptian prisoners in Saudi Arabia, and that the Egyptian Foreign Ministry has been briefed on them.
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy visited Saudi Arabia in July and discussed the issue with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz. In August, Qattan announced that the Saudi king had pardoned and released 82 Egyptian prisoners on the occasion of Ramadan.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
Tags: Saudi Arabia, Mohamed Saad, residence permits, Mahmoud Mohamed Ramadan, Saudi King Abdullah, Mohamed Qamhawy, residence permit
Gulf Arab foreign ministers said a plan to integrate their six countries, proposed by Saudi Arabia last year as a response to Middle East turmoil, needed more discussion after they met in Jeddah on Sunday.
Saudi King Abdullah had urged the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to move “to the stage of unity in a single entity” at the end of a speech in December that focused on last year’s
Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has pardoned and released 82 Egyptian prisoners on the occasion of Ramadan. Their names will shortly be sent to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, said Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Cairo, Ahmed Qattan, today.
President Mohamed Morsy was in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to attend the Extraordinary Islamic Summit held in Mecca, along with leaders of Muslim countries, when the announcement was made.
It's not yet clear whether Ahmed al-Gizawy will be among the released. Gizawy, a human rights lawyer, was arrested at the airport in Jeddah this year on 25 April for allegedly possessing large quantities of Xanax, a drug banned in Saudi Arabia. Prosecutors have sought the death penalty in his case, which has been adjourned to September.
In April, Saudi Arabia closed its embassy in Cairo after thousands of Egyptian staged protests outside the embassy over Gizawy’s detention.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
Tags: Saudi King Abdullah, Ahmed al-Gizawy, Egyptian Foreign Ministry, President Mohamed Morsy, Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Qattan
Saudi Arabia has called for an extraordinary summit of Muslim leaders to be held next month to address risks of "sedition" threatening Muslim countries, state news agency SPA reported on Sunday.
Saudi King Abdullah has called for "an extraordinary Islamic solidarity meeting to ensure … unity during this delicate time as the Muslim world faces dangers of fragmentation and sedition," SPA quoted Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal as saying.
King Abdullah wishes to convene the summit in mid-August in a bid at "unifying the ranks" of Muslims, the report said. There were no further details concerning the agenda of the meeting.
But the announcement comes amid a spike in deadly violence across Syria, where more than 19,000 have been killed since an uprising erupted in March 2011 against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Saudi Arabia and the other energy-rich Sunni nations of the Gulf have repeatedly voiced support for Syrian rebels against the regime of Assad, a member of the Alawite community, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
In a separate statement, SPA reported that the Saudi monarch has called for launching a campaign to raise funds "in support of our brothers in Syria" starting on Monday.
"The donations will be from all the kingdom's regions" urging all Saudis "to participate in the campaign."
Saudi Arabia hosts the headquarters of the 57-member pan-Muslim body — the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which is based in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.
Tags: President Bashar al-Assad, Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah, Muslim leaders, Saudi King Abdullah, extraordinary summit
Saudi Arabia has called for an extraordinary summit of Muslim leaders to be held next month to address risks of "sedition" threatening Muslim countries, state news agency SPA reported on Sunday.
Saudi King Abdullah has called for "an extraordinary Islamic solidarity meeting to ensure … unity during this delicate time as the Muslim world faces dangers of fragmentation and sedition," SPA quoted Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal as saying.
King Abdullah wishes to convene the summit in mid-August in a bid at "unifying the ranks" of Muslims, the report said. There were no further details concerning the agenda of the meeting.
But the announcement comes amid a spike in deadly violence across Syria, where more than 19,000 have been killed since an uprising erupted in March 2011 against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Saudi Arabia and the other energy-rich Sunni nations of the Gulf have repeatedly voiced support for Syrian rebels against the regime of Assad, a member of the Alawite community, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
In a separate statement, SPA reported that the Saudi monarch has called for launching a campaign to raise funds "in support of our brothers in Syria" starting on Monday.
"The donations will be from all the kingdom's regions" urging all Saudis "to participate in the campaign."
Saudi Arabia hosts the headquarters of the 57-member pan-Muslim body — the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which is based in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.
Tags: Muslim leaders, extraordinary summit, President Bashar al-Assad, Saudi King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia will issue a general pardon for some Egyptian prisoners being held in the kingdom on the occasion of Ramadan, but Ahmed al-Gizawy will not be eligible because he is still being tried, Saudi Ambassador to Egypt Ahmed al-Qattan said Thursday.
Qattan’s comments followed a meeting with President Mohamed Morsy in the presidential palace.
Morsy’s visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this month bolstered bilateral relations, Qattan said, adding that Morsy accepted Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz’s invitation to attend a summit of Islamic nations on 14 and 15 August. The summit will deal with the challenges and dangers that face Islamic countries.
Qattan said during a press briefing Wednesday that the King and the Crown Prince will visit Egypt soon.
A Saudi court on Wednesday adjourned the drug possession trial of Gizawy, another Egyptian citizen and a Saudi defendant to 5 September. Prosecutors are asking for the death penalty.
Protests broke out at the Saudi Embassy in Cairo following Gizawy’s April arrest as activists alleged he was being detained for his work with Egyptian detainees in the kingdom. The unrest prompted Saudi Arabia to temporarily recall its ambassador.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
Tags: Saudi King Abdullah, Mohamed Morsy, Egyptian citizen, Saudi Arabia, Ahmed al-Gizawy, Saudi Ambassador to Egypt Ahmed al-Qattan
The wife of Egyptian lawyer Ahmed al-Gizawy, who is detained in Saudi Arabia on drug-related charges, voiced her hope that President Mohamed Morsy will free her husband during his trip to the Gulf kingdom on Wednesday.
“Morsy is the only hope I have after God, I hope they will both come back on the same plane,” Shahinda Fathy told Al-Masry Al-Youm.
Gizawy was detained in April by Saudi authorities for drug possession, but Egyptian activists, who protested outside the Saudi embassy in Cairo, believe he was detained for criticizing the Kingdom’s treatment of prisoners.
Fathy told Al-Masry Al-Youm she expects Morsy will honor his pledge made through his spokesperson Yasser Ali, to intervene with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz for her husband’s release.
She said if Gizawy is not released before the holy month of Ramadan, which starts on 20 July, there will be fewer prospects for his return in the future.
In May, members of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, which Morsy chaired before his election, headed to Saudi Arabia to calm tensions that flared after Gizawy’s imprisonment.
On Monday, the Saudi newspaper Al-Madina said authorities had approved charges against Gizawy and that a date for his trial would be set.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
Tags: Saudi authorities, Mohamed Morsy, Saudi King Abdullah
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz al-Saud has died in Geneva, Saudi state television said on Saturday, citing a royal court statement.
Nayef, interior minister since 1975, was the heir to Saudi King Abdullah and was appointed crown prince in October after the death of his elder brother and predecessor in the role, Crown Prince Sultan.
Born in 1934, he had been in Switzerland since May this year for medical tests.
Tags: Saudi Crown Prince Nayef, Crown Prince, Crown Prince Sultan, Nayef bin Abdulaziz al-Saud
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