CAIRO //
Egyptian authorities have released two Canadians who had been held without charge in a crowded, cockroach-infested prison cell in Cairo since mid-August, Canadian officials said Sunday.
Prime minister Stephen Harper said he “welcomes this decision by the government of Egypt” to release John Greyson, a Toronto filmmaker and university professor, and Tarek Loubani, an emergency room doctor from London, Ontario.
“We look forward to seeing these two Canadian citizens return home in the not-too-distant future,” Harper told reporters Harper in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.
Msrs Greyson and Loubani said they were in Cairo before going to the Gaza Strip, where Mr Loubani was due to teach a medical course while Mr Greyson made a documentary about him.
They went to see the protests on August 16 and were arrested at a check point, then searched and beaten, they said. The two men were taken to Cairo’s Tora prison, where members of ousted president Mohammed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood are being held.
They started a three-week hunger strike to protest against their detention on September 16. It ended on Thursday.
Their lawyer, Marwa Farouk, said they were freed from jail at about 1am on Sunday morning and were in the Canadian embassy a few hours later.
In an open letter smuggled out of prison and released in late September, Msrs Loubani and Greyson called conditions at Tora prison in Cairo “ridiculous.”
The pair described “sleeping like sardines on concrete with the cockroaches (and) sharing a single tap of earthy Nile water.”
Egyptian authorities also seized their camera gear, as well as routers and several toy-sized helicopters designed for transporting medical samples, which were meant for a Gaza hospital.
*Agence France-Presse with additional reporting from Reuters
Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species
Camelpox
Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
Falconpox
Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.
Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.