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Postponement of Omar Elshal’s trial in Egypt

◆2 sources

The trial of Omar Elshal, a 34-year-old ASML employee from Eindhoven who has been detained in Egypt for more than a year, was postponed again. He is due to appear before a court in Cairo on 9 January.

His friend and spokesperson Marouen Hamdi said Elshal attended the hearing but received no clarification of the allegations against him. Hamdi said Elshal’s lawyer has not been allowed to visit him in prison or speak with him substantively at the hearing, and that family members were barred from attending. Elshal requested contact with representatives of the Dutch embassy, but that contact is still absent, according to Hamdi. Family, friends and colleagues are calling for greater political and diplomatic pressure from the Netherlands.

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Politics

Parliament calls for greater pressure on Egypt over Omar Elshal

2 sources

A majority in the Dutch Lower House adopted a motion urging the cabinet to raise ASML engineer Omar Elshal’s case with the Egyptian government at the highest diplomatic and political level. The motion was submitted by MPs from PRO, CDA, D66 and DENK. Elshal, a 34-year-old Eindhoven resident, has been detained in Egypt for almost a year after his arrest at Cairo airport while travelling with his wife for a family wedding. His family and friends say the reason for his detention remains unclear and suspect it is linked to social-media messages and his attendance at pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the Netherlands. They also say Egyptian authorities have refused Dutch consular access, that Elshal has not spoken to Dutch embassy staff, and that they are concerned about his physical and mental health. His next court session is scheduled for 26 October.