Region | Egypt

Egypt takes doctors' issue to UN agency

An Egyptian rights group has lodged a complaint at the UN against Saudi Arabia over the extreme punishment meted out to two Egyptian doctors for allegedly getting the wife of a Saudi prince addicted to morphine during the course of medical treatment, the group's officials said on Monday.

  • By Abdul Rahman Shaheen, Correspondent
  • Published: 23:29 November 17, 2008
  • Gulf News

Cairo: An Egyptian rights group has lodged a complaint at the UN against Saudi Arabia over the extreme punishment meted out to two Egyptian doctors for allegedly getting the wife of a Saudi prince addicted to morphine during the course of medical treatment, the group's officials said on Monday.

"The families of the two doctors have authorised us to file the complaint against the Saudi authorities for insisting on enforcing the penalty against them though it does not comply with the Sharia or the law," said Najuib Gabriel, the chairman of the Egyptian Union for Human Rights, a non-governmental organisation.

Last month, a Saudi Islamic court sentenced Egyptian doctors Raouf Al Arabi and Shawki Abd Rabuh to 15 years in prison and 1,500 lashes each for inducing a drug addiction in a Saudi prince's wife while she was under their treatment. The court also convicted them of dealing in addictive drugs.

The verdict drew angry reactions from human rights groups and the media in Egypt, who accused Saudi authorities of unfairly targeting Egyptians workers.

"Punishment by 1,500 lashes is a crime of torture," said Gabriel, whose organisation has accused the Saudi authorities of covering up the "torture" of the two doctors.

"The maximum flogging penalty in the Islamic Sharia ranges from 80 to 100 lashes," said Gabriel, adding that the complaint had been lodged with the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

On Thursday, Egypt said it would no longer permit medical professionals to take up work in Saudi Arabia and blacklisted 26 Saudi companies allegedly for ill-treating Egyptian workers. More than a million Egyptians have found work in Saudi Arabia.

  • Rate this article
  • Average reader rating (0 votes) 0 Stars
Tools

Emailing an article to friend is a simple way to share a news item. Your friend will receive an email with your name and email address as well any personal message you choose to send.

The information you provide on this page will not be used to send unsolicited emails.

This service is not intended to encourage spam, and action may be taken against individuals who maliciously enter personal details of another individual.

Share this article

More from Egypt

  1. Egypt rages over soccer assaults

  2. Many hurt in clashes near Algerian embassy

  3. Egypt recalls ambassador from Algeria

  4. Ancient Egyptians suffered from artery hardening: study

All articles in Egypt

More from Region

Gulf News
Popular in News
News Editor's choice