Egypt apologizes for students' arrest, torture

Egypt's diplomatic mission to Jakarta has apologized for the wrongful arrest and alleged torture of four Indonesian students studying at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.

Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said officials from the Egyptian Embassy came to the ministry's office on Tuesday to convey their regrets and apologize for the incident, which has stirred anger among Indonesians.

Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda was quoted by Antara on Thursday as saying that Indonesian Ambassador to Egypt, A.M. Fachir, also met with the Egyptian Foreign Minister's assistant for Asian affairs, Mohamed Elzorkany, on Tuesday.

"The Egyptian government responded to our objections. We will not bring up the issue again," Hassan, who is scheduled to fly to Egypt in the next few days for the Non-aligned Movement Summit, said.

Investigations into the case are still underway, Faizasyah said, but added he did not know whether Cairo would take action against those who are found guilty. "It is the Egyptian government's decision."

During a raid on June 28, Egyptian police arrested four students from Indonesia - Faturrahman, Arzil, Tasrih Sugandi and Ahmad Yunus - for their alleged involvement in an extremist network. They were released after being detained and interrogated for three days.

Antara reported the students, two of them who are in their first year at the university, had undergone a medical examination to provide evidence for their torture allegations. "The Indonesian embassy facilitated the medical examination," Roudhatul Firdaus, brother of Faturrahman, said.