Father-of-four Jailed for ‘patting’ a male customs officer on the back in Egypt released

Tony Camoccio, the father-of-four who was locked up in Egypt after ‘patting’ a male customs officer on the back has been released following a campaign for his freedom.

Supporters of Tony Camoccio, 51, from Sutton, south London, feared he would be falsely accused of sexual assault after the alleged incident at Hurghada International Airport on February 8. Friends and family say he only touched the security guard’s back ‘to say thank you’ after being patted down before their flight home to the UK after a 10 day holiday.

Tony’s wife, Joan, said he had not been fed and was forced to sleep in a cell with no roof at the notorious Hurghada Police Station Number One, with only a blanket to keep warm at night.

Mr. Camoccio was released from Egyptian custody after paying about £1,000 in bail and other related costs, the case has been dismissed for lack of evidence, and Tony will be flying home to the UK on the next available flight from Cairo.

Up to Saturday, more than 5,000 people had signed an online petition at “Detained in Dubai” calling for him to be released. Mr Camoccio said: ‘I’m very excited to be heading home and can’t wait to see all of my family and rest after the past week’s events. ‘I’m very thankful to everyone for their support, my friends and family, my lawyer Elezab Ali Elezab, John Kenny from the consulate and Radha Stirling who have done their best to get me home.’

A statement on the petition website reads: ‘At customs in Hurghada airport on his outbound journey, he was at the final checkpoint where he was, as a standard procedure for all outbound passengers, patted down by a security officer.