Egypt agrees to release Swiss tourist
A Swiss citizen blocked in Egypt for the past two weeks has been allowed to return home. The 29-year old tourist was apparently the victim of a misunderstanding over his name.
The foreign ministry in Bern said the Egyptian justice authorities on Sunday granted the tourist the right to leave the country. The move comes as amid reports of several diplomatic interventions.
The tourist has stayed in the seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh after the authorities had prevented him from flying back to Switzerland on April 15.
He is now scheduled to arrive home on Monday.
He told the Schweiz am Sonntag newspaper that he was the victim of a misunderstanding, as his family name – Künti – is apparently similar to the name of a suspected terrorist wanted by Egypt.
He later retracted the statement saying the Swiss ambassador to Cairo could not confirm the assumption.
The foreign ministry said it was bound by confidentiality and could not give further details on the incident.
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