Egyptian prisoner renounces his nationality to escape sentence
Prisoner Mohammed Sultan renounced his Egyptian nationality to escape a jail sentence, which stirred many questions about the law on the extradition of prisoners.
CAIRO — A sharp controversy raged on Egypt's social media after Mohammed Sultan, jailed nearly two years ago in the “Rabia Operations’ Room” affair, revealed his waiver of Egyptian nationality to escape a jail sentence in Egypt and be deported to the United States on May 30. He had been imprisoned since Aug. 25, 2013.
Sultan made this decision within the scope of Egyptian Law No. 140 of 2014 allowing the extradition of convicts holding another nationality or a dual nationality from Egyptian territories to their respective countries if they revoke their Egyptian nationality.
Opinions varied in Egypt; some showed anger toward Sultan for waiving his original nationality, to the point of accusing him of betraying his homeland. Others had sympathy with him, given that he had no other choice to obtain his freedom than by waiving his right to his original nationality.
Several politicians seized the opportunity to comment on the case. The former minister of legal and parliamentary affairs, Mohamed Mahsoub, an Islamist, said the release of Sultan is a victory over the country's gangs of corruption and oppression. But the founder of the Tamarod movement, Mahmoud Badr, said, “Some people sacrifice their country to eat fast food,” and sarcastically ordered a big meal for Sultan.
