The Foreign Affairs Department was in talks with Egyptian authorities on Monday regarding the release of a South African charity worker detained there.
”We are aware of this matter… we’ve been working with the Egyptian authorities to find an amicable solution,” spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said.
Dr Feroz Abukaker Ganchi was en route to Gaza with a humanitarian expedition when Egyptian authorities took him in for questioning last Friday.
No one has heard from the emergency medical practitioner from an Upington hospital since.
”We haven’t heard anything from him for the past three days and the authorities are not saying anything,” said Imtiaz Sooliman on Monday afternoon. Sooliman is chairperson of the Gift of the Givers foundation, an organisation heading the humanitarian expedition Ganchi was with.
He said they first encountered problems while at Cairo airport.
”Authorities called me and said they wanted to talk to the owner of the passport [Ganchi] … they were very polite and nothing happened,” he said.
When they arrived at the Rafah border officials took Ganchi away, without giving the team any reasons.
”No one said anything and when we asked, they kept asking us what we were talking about. We persisted for three hours until they told us that they had not arrested him but merely taken him to Cairo for questioning,” Sooliman said.
”Why did they issue a visa if they had a problem with him? Why did they let him go through Cairo? They were just trying to obstruct our trip because the whole team was prevented from crossing on Friday. We only got to Gaza on Saturday,” he said.
On Monday afternoon it was not known where Ganchi was. Sooliman said an Egyptian doctor the team was supposed to meet on their arrival in Egypt had also gone missing.
”Doctor Malik Mahamoud has disappeared. He’s not answering his phone … since Saturday and it is unlike him. His wife is frantic. His crime is helping Palestinian people,” Sooliman said.
According to the Star newspaper Ganchi was arrested by Pakistani police in 2004 for alleged involvement in ”terrorist activities”. — Sapa