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Egypt lifts ban on doctors working in Saudi Arabia

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CAIRO, December 3 (RIA Novosti) - Egypt's labor ministry has lifted a ban on doctors working in Saudi Arabia, imposed after two Egyptian doctors received 1,500 lashes and prison sentences, Egyptian media reported on Wednesday.

Egypt's labor minister, Aisha Abdel-Hadi, lifted the ban, imposed last month, after the Saudi Arabian government agreed to guarantee equal treatment for Egyptian medics working in the conservative kingdom.

On November 13, Egypt banned its nationals from working as medics in Saudi Arabia after a court sentenced Egyptian doctors Raouf Amin and Shawki Abd Rabuh, to 1,500 lashes followed by lengthy prison terms.

The court claimed that the treatment that Amin and Rabuh had prescribed, caused a Saudi princess, injured in a riding accident, to become addicted to morphine.

The men were also found guilty of selling prescription drugs and having unlawful relations with female patients.

The sentences caused an outcry in Egypt with the authorities and human rights groups launching a campaign to free the doctors.

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights said that flogging was considered an inappropriate method of punishment and could be classed as torture.

Meanwhile, the medics are still in prison and are due to receive 70 lashes every 10 days until the sentence has been carried out after which they will be sent to prison for terms of 15 to 20 years. Saudi authorities have so far refused to make any concessions or pardon the prisoners.

Over one million Egyptians, including 1,500 doctors, are believed to work in Saudi Arabia.

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