Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said Thursday he was assured by the US State Department that Egyptian citizens detained in the post-September 11 investigation would be informed of their rights, reported AFP.
But Maher stopped short of expressing satisfaction with the conditions of the Egyptian detainees, among the 1,000 people picked up for questioning by the US Justice Department after the terror attacks whose names have not been released by authorities due to privacy concerns.
The number, according to a report by the Washington Post, is over 1,200, many of them are Arabs and Muslims.
"As long as the possibility remains that Egyptian citizens are detained, I am not satisfied, until we know their names and what they are accused of," he told reporters, adding he was also unaware of the treatment they were receiving.
"But we received assurances from the State Department" that the detainees would know they had the right to contact their embassy or consulate for assistance.
Maher was unable to give details about the number of Egyptians still in custody after the attacks, which toppled New York's World Trade Center and left part of the Pentagon in ruins.
The New York Times reported Thursday that just 20 of those 600 people who remain in detention were suspected of having links to terrorism – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
