Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni has dismissed allegations that he personally denied Raymond Stock, a US author and translator, entry into Egypt.
Stock labelled Hosni’s antipathy to Israel as “instinctive” during the latter’s quest for the UNESCO presidency.
Stock was barred entry into the country at Cairo International Airport on Friday night. His deportation to the UK was ordered via a British airliner arriving from London.
Hosni told Al-Masry Al-Youm he had nothing to do with the decision, claiming attempts to link him with the issue were “stupid.”
The minister said Stock resided in Egypt during the nineties, and the decision not to grant him access might have been related to that period.
The US embassy in Cairo declined to comment on the incident.
