A group of about 35 Dutch people who wanted to participate in a protest march for Gaza in Egypt have been arrested by the Egyptian authorities. A spokesperson for the Dutch delegation of the Global March to Gaza told the ANP news agency on Saturday.
The spokesperson says that the Dutch detainees have been taken back to the capital, Cairo, by bus. As far as she knows, none of the Dutch people are still in custody.
In addition to the dozens of Dutch people, hundreds of people from other countries were stopped on Friday at two toll road crossings between Cairo and Ismailia. There they had to hand in their passports and wait for hours in the sun without food and drink. According to the spokesperson, some were abused by the police and “thugs.”
The people were then put on buses. Some were taken to Tahrir Square in the Egyptian capital. Others first had to pay an amount of approximately 50 euros per person before the bus continued.
According to the organization, there are still about 65 Dutch people in Egypt who want to participate in the protest. The march was to be held this weekend from El Arish to the border crossing with Gaza at Rafah. That is a distance of several tens of kilometers.
Earlier Dutch people expelled from Egypt
The spokesperson said that the march will not be held as long as Egypt does not give its approval. But according to her, there are other plans, although she does not want to go into detail for security reasons. For the Dutch participants, Saturday is now mainly a day of rest.
Earlier this week, Dutch people who wanted to participate in the march were detained at the airport of Cairo and expelled from the country.