BBC: The Egyptian government says it has placed a ban on Egyptian doctors going to work in Saudi Arabia in the wake of two medics being sentenced to jail.
Rauf Amin Mohammad al-Arabi, who had worked for the royal family for 20 years, was sentenced to 15 years in jail and 1,500 lashes.
He and Shawky Abd-Rabbu were convicted of prescribing morphine to a princess - who then became a drug addict.
His wife has pleaded for leniency, saying the lashes will kill him.
The Egyptian authorities say the ban on new work permits will not affect doctors already in Saudi Arabia.
Arabi is said to have prescribed morphine to the woman after she sustained injuries in a riding accident.
Some reports claim the princess had already been prescribed the drugs in the US and had specified the medication she wanted, BBC Cairo correspondent Christian Fraser says.
The sister of Abd-Rabbu said her brother was coerced into making false confessions and the Saudi authorities had threatened to imprison his wife who is also working in the kingdom.
Seventy of the lashes were reportedly administered last week, with 70 next week. >>> | November 13, 2008
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