Blair’s holiday plans under scrutiny
The families of three British men, allegedly tortured in a Cairo jail, slammed Tony Blair’s decision to take his family back to Egypt on holiday.
The holiday plan was hypocritical, they said.
The Prime Minister and his family will during Christmas return to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for the third consecutive year, according to reports.
Downing Street refuses to comment on the holiday plans, insisting the matter was “private”.
But Hodan Pankhurst, wife of the 28-year-old Reza, who has been held in Cairo since April 2002, said Mr Blair’s decision was tantamount to “endorsing” her husband’s torture.
Mrs Pankhurst said: “Egypt has broken many, many laws in the way it has treated my husband and the others.
“By maintaining this sort of relationship Tony Blair is an accomplice in those crimes. This is nothing short of clear hypocrisy.”
Maajid Nawaz from Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, Ian Nisbet and Mr Pankhurst both from London are standing trial in Cairo’s Supreme Court.
They are accused of attempting to revive the outlawed group Hizb ut-Tahrir – the Islamic Liberation Party.
They are charged with conspiring to overthrow of the Egyptian Government.
The three Britons, along with 23 Egyptians, were imprisoned after September 11.
The trio claim they have been forced to sign confessions written in a language Arabic they cannot read), tortured with electric shocks, deprived of sleep and beaten while in custody.
The men will learn the judge’s verdict on Christmas Day.
The Foreign Office has written to the Brits telling them it believes their claims of maltreatment.
