CAIRO: The Egyptian government and the foreign ministry have summoned the United Arab Emirates charge d'affaires over concerns pertaining to 11 Egyptians currently detained in the Gulf country on suspicion of assisting in the training of Islamist militants to overthrew governments in the Gulf region. According to the foreign ministry, the 11 detainees were arrested in January as part of what the Emirates has dubbed the “Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Cell.” It was part of the continuing antagonism between the UAE and Cairo over the Muslim Brotherhood, which Abu Dhabi sees as a threat to regional stability. Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs Ali el-Ashiry called in UAE diplomat Ahmed al-Menhaly and asked him “to convey to the UAE authorities Egypt's concern with completing the investigation of the Egyptian detainees in the security case swiftly,” the statement said. Ashiry also questions the authorities on why families of the detainees have not yet been allowed to visit them. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood had said in January that some of its members had been wrongfully arrested. Relations between Cairo and the UAE soured after veteran Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak – a longtime ally of Gulf Arab rulers – was toppled in 2011. The UAE has voiced distrust of the Muslim Brotherhood that helped propel Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi to power. BN
