Mum travels 4 hours to see daughter in Egypt jail...but she’s not there
THE mother of the British woman jailed for taking painkillers into Egypt made a four- hour trip to visit her daughter in prison yesterday – only to find she wasn’t there.
Roberta synclair was ‘in pieces’ after the wasted journey across the desert to the notorious Qena prison, 140 miles from her hotel.
laura Plummer had been taken there – but was moved hours later because prison guards could not find space for her. Her family described the ordeal as a ‘complete farce’ and accused the Egyptian authorities of withholding details about Miss Plummer’s wellbeing and whereabouts.
Miss Plummer was jailed for three years on Boxing Day after tramadol painkillers were found in her luggage in October. The drugs are banned in Egypt where they are widely abused.
she claimed they were for her Egyptian boyfriend Omar Caboo, who has severe back pain. Yesterday Miss Plummer’s father Neville, 70, a retired company director from Hull, said: ‘To all intents and purposes, it’s been a complete farce.
‘laura’s mother went to see her in safaga prison, which is 60 miles away from where she is staying. But they said she had been moved to Qena.
‘The next day she travelled 140 miles in a taxi to Qena with clothes, money and food but laura wasn’t there again. she was very upset, it was a wasted journey. she was worried sick.
‘she lives with laura, they’re a team, they have a very close mother and daughter bond. The whole ordeal has been making her very ill. she has been constantly messed around.’
The 33-year-old shop assistant is now being kept in a police station cell in the city of Hurghada for a few days, where Mrs synclair, 64, was finally able to see her yesterday.
Miss Plummer could be moved back to Qena, the family said – although there is a chance she could still be sent to a more comfortable prison in Cairo.
MPs and family members hoped the move was a sign the decision to detain her in Qena had been reversed.
The jail holds islamic state jihadis and is infamous for its terrible conditions. The family want her sent to a more modern facility with a library and recreational area. And the Foreign Office have spent the last 24 hours lobbying for Miss Plummer to get moved to Cairo so the family can visit more regularly.
Miss Plummer’s local MP, labour’s Karl Turner, said he thought Miss Plummer was going to be transferred to alQanater women’s prison in the Egyptian capital.
Alistair Burt, Foreign Office minister for the Middle East, has also been making urgent calls to Egyptian ministers asking for a move to Cairo. But the Foreign Office said it is still waiting for Egyptian authorities to confirm which prison Miss Plummer will get sent to. They said they have no choice but to respect the country’s laws and customs. The chaos and confusion around the case has severely distressed Miss Plummer’s family. laura’s sister Jayne synclair, 40, said: ‘Mum is absolutely distraught. she took this long taxi trip only to be told they had moved her again. ‘This is more heartbreak for our family. it’s mental torture. ‘How is laura supposed to feel being in that prison for one night, frightened to death, and she gets moved again?’ Her other sister Rachel Plummer, 31, said: ‘Mum saw laura in the holding cell yesterday afternoon and she is okay, thank God. she said the police in the Qena station were very good to her. Mum said laura will be moved to Qena. ‘if they can’t find space there, i think it will be Cairo.’ The family fear Miss Plummer will three-year be unable jail to term. cope They with have the described her as ‘naive’ and ‘daft’ but not a drugs trafficker. Miss Plummer’s mother is due to fly back to the uK today, and her sister Jayne will visit her next week. Her lawyer is mounting an appeal but it could take weeks to be processed.
‘More heartbreak for our family’