Secret documents revealed that the late Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak rejected British efforts to persuade him to release two British drug traffickers despite his regime's need for British economic support.
The British website "BBC" said that on October 21, 1984, a British court sentenced Paul Collett to 25 years in prison with hard labor after he was convicted of trying to smuggle 7 kilograms of hashish into Egypt.
British documents, obtained exclusively according to the Freedom of Information Act, reveal that, at the time, British Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe asked Mubarak, during a visit to Cairo three years after the sentence began, to release Colette.
However, Mubarak "rejected Howe to issue a presidential pardon," for the British drug trafficker, according to a note issued by the Department of Consular Affairs at the British Foreign Office after the visit.
A sentence for Colette's prison sparked angry media reactions in Britain, which prompted Howe to ask Mubarak to pardon him.
The memo said: "His case Collette was raised by the Foreign Minister during his visit to Egypt (in October 1987). However, President Mubarak ruled out the issuance of a presidential amnesty in the foreseeable future."
Meanwhile, the two countries have been negotiating terms of a bilateral agreement to exchange prisoners sentenced in criminal cases.
The consular affairs memorandum said that Mubarak said that "when this agreement is signed and ratified, there will be an opportunity for prisoners sentenced to prison to serve the rest of their sentences in their country of origin (and not to drop the sentence for amnesty or exchange). And this is provided that all parties concerned agree to transfer . "
"Mr. Mubarak indicated that Mr. Collette will consider his case in order to deport him if he submits an application for deportation when the agreement is ratified."
Several years passed, and Mubarak's visit to London was decided in January 1988, the most important item on its agenda was to discuss Egypt's request for economic support from Britain to seek its support in obtaining a loan from the International Monetary Fund.
Days before the visit, an Egyptian criminal court sentenced a British woman named Maureen Palischi to life imprisonment after being convicted of drug trafficking to Egypt.
In Britain, Aswat called for opening the file of British drug traffickers sentenced to prison in Egypt.
Given Mubarak's previous stance on the Colette case, the Near East and North Africa Administration initially warned against re-opening the matter with him.
In a secret written recommendation to British officials, who may meet Mubarak and his political adviser Osama al-Baz and his Foreign Minister, Ismat Abdel Majeed, the administration said, "It is not necessary to raise the issue with the Egyptians."
"The visit may lead the British press to talk about the case of Mrs. Moran Palaischi ... who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for drug trafficking," the private secretary of the Foreign Minister said in another information report addressed to the prime minister.
He stressed: "We do not recommend the Prime Minister to raise the issue, which can still be appealed."
However, popular newspapers in Britain started, as the Secretary of State expected, a campaign against Egypt, using the visit to pressure the British government to raise the issue with Mubarak.
The late British Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe asked Mubarak to pardon a smuggler and he refused.
The popular newspaper "The Sun" published a detailed report, which gave it an emotional and emotional nature with the imprisoned lady. The report focused on prison conditions in Egypt. Although the report stated that the woman was convicted of smuggling a pure cannabis shipment of 3 million pounds (which is a huge amount in this period) from Pakistan to Egypt, she quoted the woman as insisting what she said during the court, noting that she was "a victim of an easy-to-speak Egyptian youth named Mohamed Niazi. "
Through the report, which was written by a reporter for The Sun, who accompanied the prisoner photographer in the Qanater prison, she appealed to Maureen for the British to "remove her from the sage." The reporter said that Moran "got stuck in his hands and asked him to save her from what is in it."
The position of British foreign officials has changed. In another secret cable, the Near East Administration retracted its advice not to raise the issue.
The telegram said the press coverage "prompted the consular administration to reconsider this advice."
Despite this decline, the British were keen to observe Mubarak's previous position rejecting the release of prisoners without adequate conditions. It did not advise you to request, directly, the late President Pallischi's release.
The telegram noted that “although the government’s policy is to support other governments in adopting strict measures on drug trafficking, and although the judgment of Mrs. Balischi remains on appeal, it may be useful to mention Mr. Millor (Minister of State for Foreign Affairs) these two issues When he sees Dr. Abdul Majeed. "
The cable considered following this advice a way to face internal pressures. "This will enable the (British) ministers to say, if they are asked later, that they have used this visit to raise the issue," she said.
According to the cable, the consular administration again warned against mentioning anything about a British request that Mubarak release or pardon the two imprisoned smugglers.
The telegram advised Millor, who was receiving Mubarak and his delegation, to emphasize the following: "Perhaps the Egyptian ministers are aware of the growing press interest in the case of Mrs. Palisti. The Queen’s government does not sympathize with drug traffickers, and those who engage in such trade should realize that they risk facing Severe penalties. "
What if the surprise occurred and the issue was raised during Mubarak's meeting with Thatcher?
The Department of Consular Affairs advised the Prime Minister to confirm the following position: "We do not sympathize with drug traffickers. We accept that sanctions can be harsh. We support the Egyptian government's strong position in fighting against this evil trade that causes so much human suffering."