The United Arab Emirates has released Egyptian prisoners in an effort to reduce tension with the Islamist regime in Cairo. The UAE said it would release 103 Egyptians arrested over the last few years on financial offenses. Officials said all of the inmates, ordered release by President Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, were not linked to Egypt’s ruling Muslim Brotherhood.
“The pardon underlines the president’s keenness to offer the released prisoners the opportunity to start a new life and alleviate the suffering of their families,” the official UAE news agency Wam said. In a report on April 29, Wam said the UAE president also pledged to compensate the Egyptians for their detention. Cairo had consistently raised the detention issue over the last year.
Officials said the released Egyptians did not include those arrested in 2012 as part of an alleged Brotherhood campaign to destabilize the UAE. They said the Abu Dhabi trial of 94 defendants, also linked to Al Qaida, would continue.
Egypt hailed the decision and said it would improve relations with Abu Dhabi. Officials said the UAE release reflected a dialogue between Khalifa and Morsi.
“This indicates the depth of the historical relationship between the two countries,” Egyptian ambassador to the UAE, Tamer Mansour, said. “It opens prospects for mutual benefits between Egypt and the UAE and remove the obstacles they suffered from previously.”
