UPDATE 2 - UAE arrests Egyptian presidential candidate

UPDATES WITH SHAFIQ'S ARRIVAL IN CAIRO, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Rabei Abu Zamil

CAIRO (AA) - Ahmed Shafiq, former Egyptian prime minister and candidate in the upcoming Egyptian presidential elections, arrived in the Eygptian capital on Saturday evening, after being deported from the United Arab Emirates earlier in the day.

Shafiq's lawyer, Dina Adly had announced his arrest on her official Facebook page. "The authorities in UAE have arrested Shafiq at his house in order to deport him to Egypt," Adly said.

It was not possible for Anadolu Agency to get immediate comment from UAE authorities on the lawyer’s statements.

According to information by sources at Cairo International Airport, Shafiq’s plane landed in the Egyptian capital, alongside a group of 20 people.

Nearly 50 family members and some loyalists of Shafiq met him at the airport, the source added.

Sharif Es-Shazili, nephew of the former prime minister, told reporters that they got a phone call from Shafiq's team prior to his departure, informing that his health condition was fine.

Shafiq left the UAE for Cairo following his detention, Emirates News Agency (ENA), official news agency of UAE, reported earlier.

However, Shafiq’s family is still in the UAE, said an unnamed official source cited in the ENA report.

Shafiq -- the last prime minister of Egypt’s Mubarak era -- announced late last month that he was planning to run in presidential elections scheduled in 2018.

Shafiq, 76, briefly served as prime minister under autocratic President Hosni Mubarak, who stepped down in early 2011 following 18 days of popular demonstrations against his regime.

In Egypt’s first-ever free presidential election in 2012, Shafiq lost -- by a narrow margin -- to Mohamed Morsi, a leader of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood group. He had been residing in UAE since then.