Egyptian actor’s wife confirms husband is on Interpol terror watch list

CAIRO – 18 August 2018: The wife of the Egyptian actor Hisham Abdullah said that Egypt helped place her husband on the Interpol Terrorism Watch List, one of the reasons why he was arrested Thursday by Turkish authorities.

In a one minute and a half video posted on her Facebook account, Ghada Naguib argued that the local media tackled her husband’s arrest in wrongful manner, explaining that he was placed on a list that includes individuals with the highest record of international terrorism.



Abdullah, a host with the Turkish-based Al-Sharq TV Channel, was added to the list on grounds of “being dangerous to international security,” added his wife, Naguib, on Friday.

Police stopped Abdullah in the district where he lives in Turkey and arrested him on account of overstaying his visa and being placed by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) on the terror list.

Naguib went on to explain that Turkish authorities explained that Abdullah’s arrest occurred per law, and that it is unlikely for her husband to be deported to Egypt.
She concluded her video saying that she was promised by authorities in Turkey that her husband’s crisis will end soon on Friday.

The sources also revealed that a number of Muslim Brotherhood supporters mediated and asked the Turkish authorities to release Abdullah, according to media reports.

Who is Abdullah?

Abdullah is an Egyptian actor who appeared in many films and drama series, including “Al-Tareeq ela Eilat” (Way to Eilat), and “Layaly Al-Helmiya” (Helmiya Nights). He participated in the January 25 revolution in 2011 against ousted President Hosni Mubarak, and also in the June 30, 2013 revolution against the Muslim Brotherhood group.

However, he moved to Turkey to work in Al-Sharq channel that was launched in 2014. Abdullah appears in his TV program on Al-Sharq, attacking Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s policies.

A few days before the Egyptian presidential election in March, Egyptian opposition activist, Ramy Jan, returned from Turkey. He accused the Muslim Brotherhood of committing violations against him.

"I thought I was fighting with the oppressed side, I wanted to... ascertain the extent of the Brotherhood's grievance," he said. "But after a long journey from 2012 until 2018, and after dealing directly with them, I realized that these people only have hatred for Egypt.”

Al-Sharq and Mekameleen channels are Turkey-based institutions known for extremely opposing the Egyptian government. Staffs of the two channels are dedicated to reporting incidents against the state and analyzing them in a way that distorts the image of the Egyptian leadership. Moreover, they incite people to speak against the state.