French Tourist jailed in Egypt after souvenir thought to be 4500-year-old antiquity

French Tourist jailed in Egypt due to a souvenir thought to be 4500 years old is by the names of Nathalie.

Nathalie was under suspicion because of a statue she bought from a posh hotel’s shopping arcade.

A beautiful vacation to Egypt for Nathalie turned into a nightmare when she was mistakenly accused of attempting to bring home an antiquities as a memento.

The 56-year-old spent eight days in custody after being taken into custody at the Luxor airport.

Subsequently, she was accused of both possessing and dealing in antiques.

Was a 4,500-year-old artefact purchased as a memento by the traveller?
Nathalie was scheduled to depart from Luxor airport for her ten-day journey back home through Egypt.

As a daily security routine, the customs officials x-rayed her bags and saw some thing unusual.

Experts called by customs determined that the little figurine was an ancient artefact.

It was dating back 4,500 years, rather than a replica of an original.

Nathalie had paid €250 for the item in an art gallery at the Winter Palace Hotel the day before.

This object drew my attention immediately; it was a little figure sitting with his hands clasped behind his knees and wearing a loincloth. She told the French newspaper Le Figaro, “I had no idea that he would not bring me luck.”

Police have assumed guilt

Suspected of trafficking antiquities, the visitor was a lawyer, and he was taken to the Luxor police station.

Here, it was allegedly stated to her by the court-appointed attorney that she should apologise to the police because she was believed guilty.

“It was quite difficult to observe the degree to which he failed to protect my rights,” remarks Nathalie, who was learning about the local legal system.

Along with forty other detainees, the Tourist was made to sleep in a room measuring ten square metres.

“We have never had to deal with this kind of case in our thirty years of presence in Egypt.

Our excellent network helped us to improve Nathalie’s detention conditions in the days that followed.

But it was very difficult to expedite the procedures because state security had taken charge of the case,” Rial told the French newspaper Le Figaro.

“Even Abdel Fattah al-Sissi [the president of Egypt] does not have total control over state security;

It does what it wants and is indifferent to these kinds of economic considerations,” he continued.

Nathalie appeared before a French-speaking judge two days later.

The proprietor of the gallery was asked to provide the address of the manufacturing workshop where identical models were stocking the shelves, proving that the statue was a replica.

Despite declaring the proceedings to be halted, the court did not formally dismiss Nathalie.

She was eventually placed on an aircraft to Paris thanks to the intervention of Éric Chevallier, the French ambassador in Cairo.

Permanently barred from paying a Tour to Egypt

“After the ordeal, I understand that I have a lifetime ban from entering the country,” Nathalie told Le Figaro.

But she’s not going to let the subject rest. Her attorney promises to pursue the lifting of the prohibition and official acknowledgement of the case’s dismissal.

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