A delegation from the House of Representatives wants to visit Omar Elshal from Eindhoven who is stuck in Egypt this week, says Studio040. Elshal was arrested in October when he visited the country for the wedding of one of his relatives. He has been in custody ever since. “We will do everything we can to pay Omar a visit,” says DENK MP and party chairman Stephan van Baarle.
This weekend Studio040 revealed that the Eindhoven resident has been held in Egypt for eight months. He is suspected of ‘damaging Egypt’s reputation’.
Recently, attempts have been made to find a solution at a diplomatic level. It didn’t come yet. Partly for this reason, spokespeople for Omar and his family entered into discussions with Member of Parliament Stephan van Baarle (DENK) on Wednesday.
Van Baarle is said to have urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March this year to give urgency to the matter. According to Van Baarle, not much has happened since then and he finds that unacceptable.
Working visit
This week a Dutch delegation will pay a working visit to Egypt. Van Baarle hopes to be able to visit Omar despite the full program. “I don’t know if it is possible to deviate from the program. But it is true that the doors open earlier for members of parliament than for people from the embassy. We will do everything we can to at least pay Omar a visit.”
Member of Parliament Mpanzu Bamenga (D66) was also informed about the case. The Eindhoven resident indicated that he would bring the matter to Hanneke van de Werf, who is part of the delegation going to Egypt on behalf of D66.
Before the judge
It is unclear when Omar’s case will come to trial. The Egyptian Public Prosecution Service has been investigating in recent months.