CAIRO: Two German-Egyptians have been detained as they entered Egypt on suspicion of links to extremist groups fighting an insurgency in Northern Sinai.
The men were stopped at separate airports last month, Egyptians security officials said.
Amr Mohamed Ezzat Abdel Aziz, 23, was detained on Dec. 27 while traveling with his brother at Cairo International Airport. He was released last Thursday and deported back to Germany, due to lack of criminal records.
Issa Mohammed Abdel Ghany Ibrahim Al-Sabagh, 18, was held on Dec. 17 at Luxor Airport. Germany said he is in Egyptian police custody.
Abdel Aziz and his brother were flying from Madinah in Saudi Arabia, where they study, to Cairo.
Their family were shocked that he was detained, saying Abdel Aziz was not politically active, according to German sources.
Egyptian authorities said they were notified that Abdel Aziz was intending on taking part in Daesh activities in Sinai, but they had no evidense or record of previous criminal activity and he was deported to Germany, according to Deutsche Welle (DW).
Al-Sabbagh’s location has not been disclosed. Egyptian authorities said he was traveling to Egypt to see his grandfather. However , the authorities said they found he was carrying maps detailing North Sinai’s routes.
North and Central Sinai have been the scene of an extremist insurgency, which began in 2013.