News / Egypt

Egypt pleads for court to allow islands transfer to Saudis

Tuesday, 16 August 2016 6:16 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 16 August 2016 10:26 AM ]

Egyptian protesters are seen outside the State Council’s building in Cairo on June 26, 2016, after the high court postponed the hearing of an appeal against the decision to block the handover of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. ©AFP

The Egyptian government has for the second time appealed a court verdict that annulled its contentious decision to cede two strategic Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.

On Monday, Egyptian State Lawsuits Authority, the body that represents the government in legal cases, appealed the verdict before the High Constitutional Court.

Earlier this year, authorities in Cairo raised controversy and public uproar in Egypt by signing a maritime border deal with Riyadh that would see the North African country lose control of the two islands to the Saudi kingdom.

The deal angered Egyptians who held rare nationwide rallies in protest at the move. The government launched a heavy-handed crackdown on the demonstrators, jailing scores of them and giving them long-term jail terms.

Egypt-Saudi accord: A timeline of events

April 10, 2016: The government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi inks a deal with Riyadh to hand over the control of Tiran and Sanafir islands to the regime.

April 15, 2016: Egyptians defy a ban on street protests for the first time and take to the streets across the country in a show of anger against what they call Cairo’s humiliating concession to a wealthy ally. A misdemeanor court in the capital sentences 10 people to three years’ imprisonment for taking part in the protest.

May 15, 2016: Two Cairo courts hand five-year jail terms to than 100 protesters for taking part in last month’s protests.

Jun 21, 2016: A court in Cairo voted to annul the president’s decision and ruled the islands would remain under Egyptian sovereignty. The government is quick to appeal the verdict.

A picture taken on January 14, 2014 shows the Red Sea island of Tiran (foreground) and Sanafir (background) in the Strait of Tiran between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. ©AFP

Experts and opposition figures have accused the Sisi government of surrendering Egyptian territory in return for Saudi money, saying the agreement violates the county’s constitution. Reports said that Cairo was receiving USD 20 billion in aid from Riyadh in return for the islands.

Sisi, however, claimed that Cairo “did not relinquish even a grain of sand,” saying that “all the data and documents say nothing except that this particular right is theirs [Saudis].”

The islands of Sanafir and Tiran were handed to Egypt in 1982, after Israel and Egypt signed the so-called Camp David peace accords.

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