RIYADH — Saudi Arabia has decided to recall its ambassador to Cairo and close diplomatic missions in Egypt after protests outside its embassy over an arrested Egyptian, state news agency SPA said yesterday. The embassy as well as consulates in the Mediterranean cities of Alexandria and Suez were closed.
An official spokesman, quoted by SPA, said the measures were decided in response to demonstrations outside its missions in Egypt and threats following the announcement of the arrest of an Egyptian lawyer in Saudi Arabia. The protests were “unjustified,” the spokesman said, adding that Saudi and Egyptian employees of its diplomatic missions had been threatened.
“Hostile slogans were shouted out and the immunity of the diplomatic representations was violated, contrary to all international regulations,” the spokesman said. He said the violence had led to the suspension of diplomatic and consular services for Egyptian workers and Muslim pilgrims headed for Islam’s holiest sites in Saudi Arabia.
On Tuesday, hundreds of Egyptians protested outside the embassy demanding the release of an Egyptian human rights activist held by Saudi authorities who claim he possessed banned drugs. Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr has said he instructed the country’s embassy in Riyadh “to make urgent contacts with Saudi authorities” to press for the lawyer’s release. — AFP
