Cairo - Egyptians are hoping that President Hosni Mubarak will seek a royal pardon for two Egyptian doctors sentenced to whippings and jail time in Saudi Arabia when Mubarak visits the kingdom Friday.

A Saudi court in October sentenced Egyptian doctors Rauof Amin and Shawki Abd Rabuh to 15 years in prison and 1,500 lashes each.

Amin was accused of causing the wife of a Saudi prince to get addicted to the painkiller morphine during two years of medical treatment.

Abd Rabuh was convicted of illegally dealing in drugs and of having illicit affairs with female patients.

The sentencing has drawn angry reaction from Egypt's human rights groups and media, who have accused the Saudi authorities of unfairly treating Egyptians working there.

Earlier in November, families of the two doctors, along with rights groups, staged protests outside the Press Union in Cairo and urged President Mubarak to intervene to secure a royal pardon for them.

Saudi Arabia defended the verdict. The Saudi embassy in Cairo said in a statement that the sentencing of the two physicians is mild and that "the Saudi judicial system has delivered its ruling."

In a tit-for-tat, Egypt said it would not allow medical professionals to go to Saudi Arabia for work "until further notice."

More than one million Egyptians, including nearly 1,500 medical professionals work in Saudi Arabia.

However Egyptian diplomats attempted to calm the furor this weekend, saying that Egypt prefers quiet diplomacy to solve the issue with the Saudi Arabia.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abul Gheit warned that there could be harmful consequences due to the media's sharp handling of the issue.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki on Friday explained that "there are quiet contacts with the Saudi side through diplomatic channels in order to reach satisfactory ends to problems facing (Egyptian) citizens there."

Zaki spoke after meeting with the families of the two doctors and local human rights groups and has reportedly promised members of those groups that President Mubarak will discuss the issue with Saudi King Abdullah.

Mubarak will be in Saudi Arabia for an inauguration ceremony for two ferries that Saudi Arabia has donated to Egypt. (dpa)