Egypt apologizes to Iraq for abuse suffered by Iraqi actors at Cairo airport

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Egyptian Ambassador in Baghdad Alaa Moussa has apologized to the Iraqi people for the abuse suffered by a delegation of Iraqi actors, who were held by Egyptian authorities at Cairo International Airport.

Moussa made the apology during a meeting with Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali al-Hakim, Mawazin News quoted Ahmed Mahjoob, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as saying on Monday.

Moussa further pledged that no incidents like that would happen again in the future.

Earlier in the day, the Iraqi Media Network appealed to the federal government in Baghdad to immediately intervene to release the delegation members.

The Iraqi Media Network totally rejects the detention of the Iraqi delegation, under well-known actress Hadeel Kamel, at Cairo International Airport, and calls on the Iraqi Federal Government and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to immediately intervene to release the delegation as soon as possible, Sputnik news agency quoted the network’s head Mujahid Abu al-Hill as saying in a statement on Monday.

The detention of the Iraqi delegation “represents a violation of diplomatic norms and badly affects relations between Iraq and Egypt,” he noted.

Abu al-Hill further stressed that the delegation, which represents Iraqi Media Network, has obtained entry visas for Egypt after receiving an invitation from the General Union of Arab Producers to take part in the Cairo Mondial for Arab Media.