By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press
Fri Dec 10, 2010
 
CAIRO – An Egyptian airport official says an American writer and translator has been denied entry into the country.

The official said Raymond Stock was turned back Friday upon arrival from London. He also said Stock has been placed on a blacklist.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

Stock has translated works of Egypt's Nobel Prize winning author Naguib Mahfouz, and has lived and worked in Egypt on-and-off since 1990.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy, Elizabeth Colton, declined to comment, citing privacy issues.

Last year, Stock wrote a scathing critique of Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosny, who lost out on his bid to head the U.N.'s culture agency amid an uproar over his one-time threat to burn Israeli books.