The ban imposed by the Egyptian Labor Ministry on Egyptian doctors going to work in the Kingdom in the wake of two medics being sentenced to jail is a “temporary” one, said Hossam Qassem, Charge d'Affaires at the Egyptian Embassy here Saturday. The two medics have been found guilty of violating the ethics of their profession. The ban also surfaced after complaints of some loopholes in the employment contracts of Egyptian doctors in the Kingdom, he said. Once the contract mechanism has been reviewed and revised, the ban will be lifted, maybe it is a matter of a few days, Qassem said. He said that the authorities are fully cooperating to review and revise the employment contracts signed between the Saudi employers and the Egyptian doctors. “The visa ban, however, is temporary and will be lifted soon after a suitable solution is reached,” said Qassem. A large number of Egyptian doctors are working in Saudi Arabia both in public and private sectors, he said, without giving exact numbers. But media reports estimate the number to break the 15,000 mark. However, legal disputes mostly over violations of basic rights of Egyptian doctors, particularly employed at small hospitals, have been filed with the embassy, he said. Delayed or non-payment of salaries topped the list of violations reported by the doctors, he said. Meanwhile, Qassem said the Egyptian Embassy has appealed to Saudi authorities for leniency for the two Egyptian doctors sentenced to jail terms after getting convicted for wrong prescription of medicines to patients. “We are trying our best through the Saudi legal procedures. We trust the Saudi legal system,” he said. According to reports Rauf Amin Muhammad Al-Arabi was sentenced to 15 years in jail and 1,500 lashes. The jail term for Shawky Abd-Rabbu, another convict, was not known. – SG __
