‘Tramadol Tourist’ to Return Home after Egypt Presidential Pardon

Laura Plummer.
Laura Plummer.
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‘Tramadol Tourist’ to Return Home after Egypt Presidential Pardon

Laura Plummer.
Laura Plummer.

Egyptian authorities released on Monday Laura Plummer, a British citizen known in the media as the "Tramadol tourist".

The British woman was among many inmates released as part of Egypt’s celebrations of Police Day and the January revolution anniversary.

Plummer was released under the presidential pardon decree No. 52 of 2019, which also includes many prisoners after serving one-third of their sentences.

The British inmate spent around 14 months of her three-year sentence accompanied with a fine of 100,000 Egyptian pounds.

Plummer, 34, was arrested on October 9, 2017 at Hurghada Airport after being caught with 290 pills of Tramadol, a pain-relieving drug which is illegal in Egypt, but not in the UK. Back then, the prosecution decided to detain her for four days before referring her to the Red Sea Criminal Court.

The Telegraph newspaper expected the released tourist to return to the UK on Monday.

In the first trial, Plummer admitted to carrying the drugs in her bag at the Hurghada airport, saying she did not know the pills are not authorized in Egypt.

Upon the defense request, the court listened to the testimony of Omar Abdul Aziz, the tourist's husband, who explained that he and his mother suffer from diseases that require a painkiller and that his wife contacted him and told him she will bring the pills for this purpose.

The defense requested the court to clear Plummer from the charge as she did not commit the crime on purpose, or aim to sell or trade them. The request also mentioned that these pills are legally sold in the UK, and thus, the British citizen was not aware of their illegality in Egypt.

However, she was convicted over a stipulation that says "when a crime is committed with clear evidence, the law should be applied on all wrongdoers, whether they were aware of their crime or not. The ignorance of the law is not an acceptable excuse."



Elderly Man Dies as Wildfires Rage in Türkiye, Forcing Evacuations and Road Closures

A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem
A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem
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Elderly Man Dies as Wildfires Rage in Türkiye, Forcing Evacuations and Road Closures

A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem
A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem

Firefighters on Thursday discovered the body of an elderly man after extinguishing a wildfire near a village in western Türkiye, while crews elsewhere continued to battle another blaze that closed a highway and forced some residents to be evacuated from their homes.

The 81-year-old-man died from smoke inhalation in a village near the town of Odemis, Suleyman Elban, the governor for Izmir province, said. His death marks the first fatality in a series of wildfires across the country that have forced thousands to flee.

A total of 37 other villagers were safely evacuated by security forces and emergency teams, Elban said, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, hundreds of firefighters, supported by aircraft and helicopters, were deployed to extinguish a wildfire blazing in the Aegean coastal town of Cesme, a tourism hotspot some 192 kilometers (120 miles) west of Odemis.

That wildfire, which began on Wednesday, forced the evacuation of three neighborhoods and closed roads. Television footage of the blaze showed flames burning through dried vegetation on both sides of a road.

Elban said the wildfires in Izmir province are believed to have been sparked by electrical lines, which ignited dry grass and spread rapidly due to wind.

In the past week, Türkiye has battled hundreds of fires across the country that were fueled by fierce winds, scorching heat and low humidity.

The fires — most of which were brought under control — damaged or destroyed around 200 homes, the majority in İzmir, the Interior Ministry said. Dozens of barns were also destroyed.

As firefighting crews battled the blazes, Türkiye's parliament adopted the country’s first climate law late Wednesday, in a move aimed at reaching net-zero emissions by 2053.

The legislation includes measures to establish a carbon market board to oversee efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission. It also imposes fines on companies that fail to comply with the requirements.

The U.K.-based environmental advocacy group ClientEarth on Thursday welcomed the law’s symbolic importance but said it has several shortcomings.

“The law lacks ambitious, science-based targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the medium-term and offers no commitment to phasing out fossil fuels,” the group said.