Egypt arrests 12 protesting transfer of islands

 Egyptian police have arrested 12 people at a protest against the transfer of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.

Security officials say the Monday arrests were made around the Journalists’ Union building in central Cairo, where dozens of people, mostly lawyers and journalists, had gathered to demonstrate. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorised to brief reporters.

Last Thursday, state media reported that President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi’s government approved the maritime border agreement and sent it to parliament for ratification despite a court ruling the deal unconstitutional.

The transfer was announced alongside a Saudi aid package last year, leading critics to condemn it as a land sell-off. The April signing of the agreement set off the largest demonstrations of Al Sissi’s two-year rule.


source : gulfnews