Egyptians detained by UAE over security concerns speak to their families

The 11 Egyptians detained in the UAE over their alleged links to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt were granted permission to speak to their families.

ABU DHABI // Eleven Egyptians detained by state security over their alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood in their home country have spoken to their families, the Egyptian Embassy has said.

Tamer Mansour, Egypt's ambassador to the UAE, said that "due to the large understanding of Emirati officials of the anxiety felt by detainees' families", they had been allowed to speak to them in the past few days.

He said the communication was a great relief, particularly for the detainees' wives and children.

The families told the embassy that the 11 were "fine and treated well", as Emirati officials said previously.

Mr Mansour said the detainees were being dealt with according to the law and "humanely", and had been given all medical treatment needed.

None had been physically or emotionally abused, he added.

The embassy is currently helping the families get powers of attorney to access the detainees' money.

The men were arrested at the end of last year.

Investigators had been monitoring their movements for several years and believed they had formed their own network in the UAE, a security source told Al Khaleej newspaper in Sharjah on January 1.

State security found a close relationship between the group and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

There was continuous coordination between the two, secret meetings and exchange of classified information.