Egypt sentences 5 foreigners to death for drug smuggling
A traditional fishing boat navigates off the Egyptian port town of Ismailia, 80 miles northeast of Cairo, on March 28, 2009, as the luxury ocean liner Queen Mary II (R) transits northbound through the Suez Canal on its way to the Mediterranean Sea.
Five foreigners have been sentenced to death by a court in Egypt’s Red Sea province for smuggling drugs.
The court also fined the five convicted men 85 million Egyptian pounds ($12 million dollars) for attempting to bring the drugs into Egypt.
British citizen Charles Raymond Ferndale, 74, three citizens of the Seychelles and a Pakistani sailor were arrested in 2011 after Egyptian officials found three tons of hashish on board their ship off the Red Sea town of Marsa Alam, Reuters reported.
The Pakistani citizen escaped during the arrest, so he was sentenced in absentia, the Associated Press reported.
The remaining four defendants listened to the verdict from inside a cage in the courtroom.
"We are opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances,” the British Foreign Office said, according to BBC News. “Our consular team in Cairo are in contact with the British prisoner, and we will do our utmost to prevent this execution.”
The men can appeal the decision, according to BBC News.
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