CAIRO: The Kingdom's authorities have managed to secure the release of seven Saudi prison inmates being held in Egypt. An official at the Saudi Embassy in Cairo told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the seven would be freed on April 25 in accordance with a decision from the Egyptian cabinet to free foreign inmates who had completed at least half their prison terms. A separate decision on the release of Saudi inmates came from the Egyptian ministries of Interior and Justice. The move comes following contact with the Egyptian authorities by the Saudi Ambassador to Egypt, Ahmad Qattan, in response to instructions from King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, to take up the issue of Saudi prisoners in Egypt. The embassy source said that the cabinet decision entails the release of five Saudis who have completed over half the terms of their sentences, while the release of a further two arose from the efforts of Ambassador Qattan. Five of the seven Saudis expected to be released were convicted of drugs offenses and sentenced to life imprisonment. The other two were held in trade cases involving use of finances and issuing of checks. They were given 15 years' prison each, but the terms were reduced on appeal last week to seven years.
