Foreign Office ‘extremely concerned’ by Briton’s death sentence in Egypt

The Foreign Office is “extremely concerned” about a British sailor who was sentenced to death in Egypt for smuggling drugs.

A court official in the Red Sea Province said five people, including the Briton, were “an international gang” who were handed the death penalty for attempting to smuggle three tons of hashish into Egypt via its south-eastern coast.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “The British Government is extremely concerned at the death sentence passed down to a British national on April 7, and confirmed on June 3.

“We are opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances. Our consular team in Cairo are in contact with the British prisoner and we will do our utmost to prevent this execution.”

A source said an official from the British Embassy in Egypt was in court.

In addition to the death sentences, the court imposed a fine of 85 million Egyptian pounds (£8 million), according to the official.

Those convicted are a Briton, a Pakistani, and three individuals from the Republic of Seychelles.

The defendants are sailors who were arrested on board a ship near the Red Sea coastal town of Marsa Alam.