By Aydogan Kalabalik
CAIRO (AA) – Former Egyptian prime minister and candidate in the upcoming presidential elections, Ahmed Shafiq denied reports that he was kidnapped in a live phone interview on TV late Sunday.
Ahmed Shafiq’s interview on local “Dream 2” television channel was the first since he returned to Egypt on Dec. 2 from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after five years of self-exile.
He reiterated his plan to run in the 2018 presidential elections.
The 76-year-old politician arrived in the Egyptian capital Saturday evening, after being deported from the UAE earlier in the day.
His lawyer, Dina Adly announced his arrest on her official Facebook page: “The authorities in UAE have arrested Shafiq at his house in order to deport him to Egypt. “
Shafiq left the UAE for Cairo following his detention, Emirates News Agency (ENA), the official news agency of UAE, reported earlier.
According to information from sources at Cairo's International Airport, when Shafiq’s plane landed nearly 50 family members and loyalists met him.
Shafiq — the last prime minister of Egypt’s Mubarak era — announced late last month that he was planning to run in the 2018 presidential elections.
He briefly served as prime minister under autocratic President Hosni Mubarak, who stepped down in early 2011 following 18 days of popular demonstrations against his regime.
In Egypt’s first-ever free presidential election in 2012, Shafiq lost — by a narrow margin — to Mohamed Morsi, a leader of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood group. He has resided in the UAE since then.
