Egyptian immigration officials prevented British member of parliament George Galloway from entering the country last night because he is on a blacklist, airport sources said today.
Galloway had flown to Cairo to take part in a mock trial of US President George W. Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and British Prime Minister Tony Blair for their activities in Iraq and the Palestinian territories.
A prominent opponent of the invasion of Iraq and advocate of Palestinian rights, Galloway has spent more than 12 hours at Cairo airport after arriving on an EgyptAir flight from London, the airport sources said.
"He'll probably have to go to London on the next plane, unless attempts to get him through succeed, which is most unlikely," said one airport official, who asked not to be named.
Galloway phoned organisers of the "trial" for help and spent much of the night in a chair, they added.
The two-day "trial", which ends on Saturday, has been organised by the Union of Arab Lawyers, which said former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was taking part.
The sources gave no immediate reason why Galloway should be on the list of people not permitted to enter Egypt.