Egyptian authorities detain, deport Sudanese journalist at Cairo airport

April 23, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – Egyptian authorities on Sunday have denied entry and deported prominent Sudanese journalist al-Tahir Satti at Cairo International Airport.

Satti arrived at Cairo airport from Khartoum on Sunday to join his wife who travelled to Egypt earlier for medical treatment.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune Sunday, the pro-government Sudanese Journalists Union (SJU) denounced the move by the Egyptian authorities against Satti, describing it as “arbitrary measure”.

It pointed that Satti was granted entry visa from the Egyptian embassy in Khartoum, saying his deportation has negatively impacted on his family.

The SJU added the Egyptian move indicates that Cairo “has no desire and is not serious” about easing tensions between the two countries, saying Satti’s deportation comes just three days after the two sides agreed on a code of honour to stop negative media campaigns.

The statement pointed that the targeting of Sudanese journalists by Egyptian authorities doesn’t help improve relations between the two countries, demanding the government to take the necessary measures to defend the Sudanese journalists against the “unjustified Egyptian provocations”.

It is noteworthy that Satti has recently written a serious of columns criticising the stance of the Egyptian government regarding the disputed Halayeb triangle besides the negative media campaign against Khartoum.

Tensions between Khartoum and Cairo have escalated following the former’s decision to restrict imports of Egyptian farming products which was reciprocated by Cairo’s decision to raise residency fees for Sudanese living in Egypt.

Also, Sudan indicated that it would take some measures to end the Egyptian presence in the disputed area of Halayeb triangle after some Egyptian media outlets launched a campaign ridiculing Sudan’s cultural monuments.

However, the two countries on Thursday agreed to work together to ease tensions through the control of hostile media campaigns and to curb activities of opposition groups in their territories.

The two agreements have been reached in a series of meetings between the Sudanese officials and a visiting Egyptian delegation led by the Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry.

(ST)