Former Egyptian prime minister Ahmed Shafiq, an ex-presidential candidate who resides in the United Arab Emirates, has been barred from travelling outside the country since 26 November, Middle East Eye can reveal.

A source close to Shafiq told MEE that the former air force pilot had planned to travel to Paris last Sunday, but was not allowed to leave by UAE authorities.

The source added that Shafiq was going to travel to the US and Cairo, where he would have announced his presidential bid for early next year, when President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is widely expected to seek a second term.

The source also said that Shafiq was already at the airport last Sunday where the authorities told him that he would not be able to board the plane to Paris. After allegedly failing to convince them, Shafiq “prepared” a statement to Reuters, declaring his intentions to run for Egypt’s presidency, the source said.

At the same time, Shafiq sent a video to Al Jazeera Arabic – which has been demanded by the UAE to be shut down – confirming that the UAE has banned him from travelling outside the country for reasons that he does not know.

Read the whole story from Middle East Eye.

Featured image courtesy of AP