UAE deports Egyptian presidential candidate

By Rabei Abu Zamil

CAIRO

Ahmed Shafiq, former Egyptian prime minister and candidate in the upcoming Egyptian presidential elections, arrived in the Egyptian capital Saturday evening, after being deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) earlier in the day.

Shafiq's lawyer, Dina Adly announced his arrest on her official Facebook page. "The authorities in UAE have arrested Shafiq at his house in order to deport him to Egypt," Adly said.

Anadolu Agency was not able to get an immediate comment from UAE authorities in response to the lawyer’s statements.

According to information by sources at Cairo's International Airport, when Shafiq’s plane landed nearly 50 family members and his loyalists met him at the airport.

Sharif Es-Shazili, nephew of the former prime minister, told reporters that they got a phone call from Shafiq's team prior to his departure, informing them that his health condition was fine.

Shafiq left the UAE for Cairo following his detention, Emirates News Agency (ENA), official news agency of UAE, reported earlier.

However, Shafiq’s family is still in the UAE, said an unnamed official source cited in the ENA report.

Later on Saturday, Samir Sabry, known as a pro-Sisi regime lawyer, made a criminal complaint about Shafiq to the attorney generalship, according to Egyptian media.

Sabry claimed that Shafiq committed a "crime of betrayal" and also announced his candidacy for the upcoming Egyptian presidential election on Qatar centered Al Jazeera channel.

In June, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain abruptly cut diplomatic and commercial ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups in the region.

Sabry demanded Shafiq to be arrested and tried in court.

Shafiq -- the last prime minister of Egypt’s Mubarak era -- announced late last month that he was planning to run in the presidential elections scheduled in 2018.

Shafiq, 76, briefly served as prime minister under autocratic President Hosni Mubarak, who stepped down in early 2011 following 18 days of popular demonstrations against his regime.

In Egypt’s first-ever free presidential election in 2012, Shafiq lost -- by a narrow margin -- to Mohamed Morsi, a leader of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood group. He had resided in the UAE since then.

Reporting by Rabei Abu Zamil; Writing by Cansu Dikme,Burcu Arik, Fatih Hafiz Mehmet