Both Canadians Remain in Egyptian Prison as Prosecutor absent on Hearing

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Two Canadian men currently jailed in Egypt are now deemed to remain in prison after a prosecutor failed to show up to a scheduled hearing. 53-year-old Filmmaker, John Greyson, and his 32-year-old friend, Dr. Tarek Loubani, kept waiting outside the Cairo prison for seven hours, but the prosecutor never appeared. Greyson’s sister, Cecilia, alleged that “we were all taken aback,” explaining that “we were hopeful the meeting would take place… It’s been a frustrating day.”

Lawyers representing Greyson and Loubani were scheduled to meet with the prosecutor in order to plead their case for release, equipped with just travel documents and official letters illustrating that men were only traveling through Cairo and had no intention to stay. The men were arrested for entering in a police station to ask for directions on Aug. 16. Their 15-day detention period ends Saturday, though they are now anticipated to remain in prison until a new hearing takes place. Cecilia sorrowfully elucidated that the soonest the next hearing could happen would be next week, though nothing is scheduled as yet. She stated that “it’s a bit of limbo. We do understand that things are chaotic there, but we need information.”

Cecilia explained that the prosecutor failed to attend several scheduled meetings on Thursday, stranding numerous lawyers and awaiting prisoners. Even though no formal charges have been laid so far, Egyptian prosecutors claims that the men are allegedly suspected of conspiring with the Muslim Brotherhood to attack a police station.