Sudan Archive

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When its guarantee is now secured. And I believe that the guarantees I mentioned in my last annual report (page 11) are sufficient for the purpose, as I proposed there to restrict the authority of the new council in legislation with the following two restrictions: (1) That no notice of inspection of the premises of any national of the signatory states to the treaty or of those appointed by those states, which cannot be entered without foreign privileges, shall be issued except through the mediation of the consulate, unless by a judge of the nationality of one of those states or with his permission. (2) That in all cases where the mediation of the consulate is now required for entry into premises, whether for the execution of a judgment against him, or for the inspection of his home, or for any other judicial purpose, the execution shall only be carried out in the presence of a police officer or a court bailiff of the nationality of the signatory state to the treaty and under his supervision. If we express the result of the desired change in non-technical terms, it would be as follows: The Egyptian police cannot now enter a European's home without the consent of his consul and the presence of a representative from the consul. This representative is usually an Easterner, except rarely. According to the new system required, the consent of the judge replaces the consent of the consul, and a European police officer or another official from a European court replaces the consul's representative. If you want to inspect the home of an Englishman, Frenchman, or German residing in Cairo or Alexandria, it will be done as if that person were residing in London, Paris, or Berlin. The only difference is that the inspectors may not be English, French, or German, but from other European nationalities. This is a difference that Europeans residing in Egypt are cautious about, or excuse.

(H) The Police

I discussed in the first aspect of the police's intervention in the affairs of Europeans and their harassment of them in the press, which is entering their homes. I will now discuss the other aspect. It appears that some Europeans fear that changing the system of foreign privileges may lead to the police's interference and misuse of their authority in harassing Europeans outside their homes. But I do not understand the basis of this fear, as Europeans are not now outside their homes with a special status that would object to our current situation. The police are now entitled to apprehend anyone who commits certain crimes in the streets.

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