Egypt apologises for ‘detaining Iraq media delegation at Cairo airport’

Egyptian authorities “officially apologised” yesterday to the Iraqi government for recently holding an Iraqi media delegation at the country’s Cairo International Airport.

“The Egyptian Ambassador in Baghdad Alaa Musa has officially apologised to the Iraqi Foreign Minister, Mohammed Ali Alhakim, and the media delegation for the harassment at the Cairo airport,” Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ahmad Mahjoub, said in a statement.

Mahjoub added that “the Egyptian ambassador promised, during his reception at the Iraqi foreign ministry in the capital Baghdad, that such action will not be repeated in the future.”

Yesterday morning, Egyptian authorities detained an Iraqi media delegation, who had arrived in the country to represent the Iraqi Media Network at the so-called “Cairo Mondial for Arab Media” at Cairo airport for an “unknown reason”.

READ: Egypt MP calls for ban of face veil in government buildings 

Iraqi President Barham Salih denounced what he described as “the Egyptian abuse of our media delegation.”

The head of the Iraqi Media Network, Mujahid Abu Al-Hill, said earlier that the members of the delegation – headed by the Iraqi actress Hadeel Kamel – were granted the required entry visas from the Egyptian Embassy in Baghdad.

He stressed that the Egyptian move had represented “a violation of diplomatic standards and relations between the two countries,” warning that the network “would suspend its participation in the Cairo events and would close its office there if the Egyptian authorities did not apologise for what has happened.”

Egypt is due to host the 8th Cairo Mondial for Arab Media today.