An American writer was barred from entering Egypt on Friday after arriving from London, local officials said. Raymond Stock was reportedly on a blacklist of individuals not allowed into Egypt.
One official told Bikya Masr that Stock was on the blacklist because of “his actions against the Egyptian regime and the image of the country abroad.”
Ironically, Stock is a well established translator, having translated the works of Egypt’s Nobel Prize author Naguib Mahfouz. He has lived on and off in Egypt since 1990.
Spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy, Elizabeth Colton, declined to comment, citing privacy issues, the Associated Press reported.
The US Embassy does not give personal information regarding individuals except to their families.
Last year, Stock wrote a scathing critique of Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosny, who lost out on his bid to head the United Nations’ culture agency amid an uproar over his one-time threat to burn Israeli books.
Hosny apologized for the comments in the lead-up to the UN vote.
This is most likely the reason for his expulsion.
Last year, American and Swedish citizens were also barred from the country after they had participated in a pro-Palestinian march earlier in the year.
