Friend caught shoplifting in Sharm el Sheikh..

williewonder

Is he a serial shoplifter at home in the UK too? 

Yes he is, many convictions.

soolin

williewonder said:

Is he a serial shoplifter at home in the UK too? 

Yes he is, many convictions.

There is very little advice that can be given here that hasn’t already been given. The son will be subject to the laws in Egypt unless there is a legally trained person familiar with Egyptian law on here we can only speculate. 

Your friend has been in contact with the Embassy, that’s good but as has been pointed out there is actually very little they can do apart from recommend where to seek legal advice. I’m not sure what else they are expecting g from them.

A lawyer of some sort trained and able to represent clients in Egypt will be a necessity, if there is no money to pay for one then your friend will need to find money, either by some form of charity appeal or by seeking help from the wider family. This might not be an easy one to raise charitable donations for though, a person with a criminal background in the UK now being accused of the same in a less tolerant country, and I would seriously warn your friend that making a public claim for help may result in some comments that they might find distressing. 

As for going to the press, again I seriously worry this might backfire. There is a public disquiet amongst certain factions that our criminals are dealt with too leniently in the UK, I imagine a press story, however sympathetic might elicit some unpleasant responses that might add to their distress. 

I think my view, and again I know nothing about Egyptian law, is that seeking legal advice and finding funds to do so should be of the utmost priority. I’d also suggest that mentioning any mental health issues might not be at all useful in a foreign court but again a trained lawyer can advise on that.

williewonder

He's going to face even more hardship soon as his universal credit will stop as he's been away for longer than 28 days, if he's released will the Egyptian Government pay for the flight back the UK?

Pollycat

This is not really appropriate to the Overseas holiday and travel planning - imho.

I don't think there is any reassurance you can give to his Mother.
He broke the law in a foreign country.
He will be subject to the laws of that country.

If I read that story in the media I'd simply think 'he deserves what punishment he gets'.
Why does his Mother think going to the media will make a difference?

His Mother needs to read this (thanks to bagand96 for the link)
Prisoners pack template - 2015 (publishing.service.gov.uk)

It explains what the British Consulate can and can't do.
Maybe his expectations of the British Consulate are unrealistic.
It explains what can be expected of an Egyptian prison.

soolin

williewonder said:

He's going to face even more hardship soon as his universal credit will stop as he's been away for longer than 28 days, if he's released will the Egyptian Government pay for the flight back the UK?

I can’t see why the Egyptian Government would pay his flights home unless there is something you need to add to the story?

 If he is released without trial then the holiday insurer might be worth a try, but what has changed to make you think he is going to be released now without waiting months for a trial? 

NoodleDoodleMan

Maybe the offer of a generous "donation" to the wronged shopkeeper might help reduce the severity of the charges ?

I'm no authority on Arabic/Islamic law - but I believe (wrongly or rightly ?) that financial restitution has a place in such cultures.

If he has previous convictions from UK courts it's obvious that the medical condition is unacceptable as any form of defence.

Allowing somebody with these tendancies to travel abroad is tempting fate - being judgemental retrospectively is always 20-20 vision of course.

Incidentally, was there not a case a few years ago where a British woman was imprisoned for carrying tablets into Egypt where that medication is not available over the counter unlike the UK where it is.

soolin

Pollycat said:

This is not really appropriate to the Overseas holiday and travel planning - imho.

I don't think there is any reassurance you can give to his Mother.
He broke the law in a foreign country.
He will be subject to the laws of that country.

If I read that story in the media I'd simply think 'he deserves what punishment he gets'.
Why does his Mother think going to the media will make a difference?

His Mother needs to read this (thanks to bagand96 for the link)
Prisoners pack template - 2015 (publishing.service.gov.uk)

It explains what the British Consulate can and can't do.
Maybe his expectations of the British Consulate are unrealistic.
It explains what can be expected of an Egyptian prison.

I’ll message the forum team to see if there is a more appropriate board for this. 

MattMattMattUK

To clarify, he and his family need to be in contact either the embassy, they are the best placed to offer advice and offer assistance, including helping find a suitable lawyer, they will hoeveer not pay for the lawyer. Going to the media will likely backfire, both as others have said as the media are very unlikely to be sympathetic and secondly because the Egyptian authorities are unlikely to take well to perceived foreign meddling and criticism of their legal system. 

His holiday insurance (if he has it) may assist if he is not prosecuted, if he is released without being convicted he will be expected to make his own way home, if he is convicted then at the end of his prison term (which may range from immediate release dor time served to months) he will be handed over to the British Embassy and expelled from thr country, the UK government will pay for the flight to bring him home but he will be required to pay that amount back.

Is this person of full mental capacity? As far as the Egyptian authorities are concerned that will be pretty much the only mitigating factor.

Depending on how the treat the crime, if others were involved, if he threatened anyone, the total value of the goods etc. the penalty can range from imprisonment to hard labour, for a duration of six months to seven years. The judge does have some discretion with foreign nationals, they can instead impose fines, or maximum penalties (seven years hard labour), it will depend on the political reality at the point of trial and whether there appears to be any political value in a minister later reducing the sentence to gain other concessions from the relevant nation, though as he does not appear to be someone who would garner sympathy at home that is less likely.

The reality is he needs and Egyptian lawyer, without that no one will be any wiser as to the specifics.

Pollycat

soolin said:

Pollycat said:

This is not really appropriate to the Overseas holiday and travel planning - imho.

I’ll message the forum team to see if there is a more appropriate board for this. 

I'm not sure there is a more appropriate board for this on MSE.

The OP has been given advice and links to valuable information that will inform the Mother on what she and her son can expect from the British Consulate, the Egyptian courts, the Egyptian prison and how to get legal advice.
It sounds like it may be a long and maybe expensive process.

TELLIT01

People sometimes go to the press when the believe somebody has been wrongfully arrested but that is not the case here.  The OP acknowledges that the person has done what they have been arrested for so all that anybody can do is wait for the court process to be completed.  As for the Egyptian government paying for his flight, there is absolutely no reason they have to.  If he is deported the cost of the flight may fall to the Egyptian government, but I don't know.