Manchester student held in Egyptian prison accused of 'spying'

A Manchester student is being held in a jail in Egypt after he was accused of spying.

Muhammed Fathi Abulkasem was travelling to visit friends in Egypt when he was arrested at an aiport in Alexandria last week.

He was allegedly accused of 'collecting information on a military facility' - because there was a military helicopter in the background of the picture.

He was due to be sentenced yesterday.

His cousin, Shareen Nawaz, said:

"I want my cousin to be out, it's not safe for him to be there, we don't know what the prisons are like out there. He's not done anything wrong, he's only 19.

"All he's done is what we do. How many of us can go through our phones and have a look at the videos we've taken when we've landed in different countries?

"All he's done is that."

His family are now calling on the Foreign Secretary to help them.

At the moment, Muhammed's local MP, Graham Stringer, is in touch with the family to work out what to do.

Shareen said it has been a frustrating time:

"Everything is happening so fast, he was arrested a week ago and has been in court three times already.

"No-one is telling us what is going on, all we've been told is that the photo he took is being reviewed.

"All it is, is him landing, with the views, and in the background there just happens to be military stuff.

"How can you be accused of being a spy? For who?"

We contacted the Foreign Office for more information and they sent us this statement:

“We are seeking more information from the Egyptian authorities following the arrest of a British person in Alexandria, as well as permission for consular access. Our staff are providing assistance to his family.”