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Four foreign nationals who staged a pro-Palestine protest on Thursday in front of the Foreign Ministry building have been forcibly expelled from Egypt, after being detained hours into the demonstration seeking to gain permits for a convoy to Gaza.
After the Thursday demonstration, the four activists were held for over 24 hours, lawyer Ragia Omran, who followed the case, told Mada Masr, adding that, by Saturday evening, all four had left the country.
A small crowd of demonstrators gathered on Thursday afternoon to show solidarity with Palestine outside the Foreign Ministry. The four, including US citizen John Parker who is running for a Senate seat in California, as well as an Argentinian, Australian and a French citizen, tried to enter the ministry’s headquarters to deliver a letter to Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. Building security personnel then escorted them into the ministry. At 12:30 pm, they could no longer be reached.
Several Foreign Ministry sources denied to Mada Masr that the activists remained in the building on Thursday afternoon.
Some of the activists’ friends, meanwhile, told Mada Masr on condition of anonymity that police transferred them to the Boulaq Aboul Ela Police Station where they were held for over 24 hours.
Staff at the Boulaq Abul Ela police station later informed Omran that the four foreign activists “are on their way to leave the country because they are unwelcome.” She confirmed on Saturday evening that all four had left the country.
The four had arrived in Egypt among other activists to join the Global Conscience Convoy, a group of protestors comprising doctors, journalists, lawyers and relief workers who were organizing travel to the Rafah border crossing as a way to place pressure on the stalled delivery of aim to Palestinians in Gaza.
After facing multiple delays to their planned departure date, the organizers postponed the convoy indefinitely, saying they were unable to obtain the necessary security permits. Officials have not given a reason for the delay in the issuance of permits to the Global Conscience Convoy.
The four activists who were forcibly expelled from Egypt had organized a separate demonstration as they waited in Cairo for further news of the convoy.