Two Canadians held for seven weeks in what they described as brutal conditions in an Egyptian prison have been freed, Canadian officials announced late Saturday.
Few other details were available on the release of the men, John Greyson and Dr. Tarek Loubani, who were arrested on Aug. 16 during violent anti-government demonstrations in Cairo. Greyson, a Toronto film-maker, and Loubani, an emergency room doctor from London, Ont. were released Sunday morning, but there has been no confirmation when they will be returning to Canada, the New York Times reports.
A statement released by the two Canadians from prison indicated they had decided to check out protests close to their hotel on Aug. 16. Loubani stopped to treat injured protesters and Greyson filmed the carnage. After leaving the scene of the protests, they said, they were beaten and taken into custody. Egyptian prosecutors accused them of “participating with members of the Muslim Brotherhood” in an attack on a police station, but never filed any charges.
The two Canadians said they spent most of their time crammed with other inmates in a filthy, cockroach-infested prison cell as they awaited word on their fate.
[NYT]