Russian tourist freed after arrest for pictures of Cairo's 'Garbage City'

CAIRO – A Russian photographer who was briefly detained in Cairo for taking pictures of locals without their consent has been released, Russia’s embassy in Egypt announced on Thursday.

Arseniy Semenyo was detained earlier this week in the Cairo district of Manshiyat Nasr "following a conflict with locals", the embassy said in a statement posted to Facebook on Thursday evening.

The conflict occurred because Semenyo had taken photos and videos of locals, the statement added.

Egyptian police returned his passport and camera equipment, and he was set to fly back to Russia on Thursday night.

The embassy urged Russian tourists and professional bloggers to obey Egyptian laws and respect Egypt's traditions by refraining from filming residential and other non-touristic sites, saying they could face sanctions from local authorities.

"To avoid unwanted incidents, please respect locals and their right to privacy," the statement read.

The residents of the impoverished Manshiyat Nasr area, most of whom are Coptic Christians, generally work in garbage collection and recycling. The area is sometimes called Cairo’s 'Garbage City'.