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published photo, Getty Images
Torah prison in Egypt
The United States has expressed “concern at the deterioration” of the human rights situation in Egypt.
State Department spokesman Ned Price at a press conference on Wednesday spoke of the “arrest and harassment” of NGO leaders, academics and journalists.
“We have informed the Egyptian government that we strongly believe that individuals like Hossam Bahgat should not be targeted for peacefully expressing their views,” Price said.
Bahgat is the executive director of the Egyptian Initiative for Human Rights.
“Mr. Bahgat is a well-respected human rights defender, and the Egyptian Human Rights Initiative works to promote and protect rights in Egypt,” Price explained.
“Targeting and prosecuting EIPR and other NGO staff, including the defendants in Case 173, violates the rights of all Egyptians to freedom of expression and association, and threatens the stability and the prosperity of Egypt, ”he added.
“As a strategic partner, we have conveyed these concerns to the Egyptian government and will continue to do so in the future,” noted Price.
There has been no official Egyptian comment on the US spokesman’s statements.
And according to a White House statement following a phone call between US President Joe Biden and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi at the end of May, Biden stressed the importance of conducting a “constructive dialogue” on human rights in Egypt.
A committee responsible for Egyptian human rights issues in the US Congress raised the issue of human rights in Egypt during a visit by Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel to Washington last month.
Bahgat had announced in his blog two days ago that he would be referred by the Egyptian public prosecutor to trial next September for “insulting an ordinary body, spreading false rumors and using social media to commit crimes “.
And last June, the prosecution released Bahgat after questioning him for a tweet he posted last year, in which he criticized the performance of the head of the National Election Authority and held him accountable for what ‘he described as the manipulation, shame and irregularities that marred the parliamentary elections.
That same month, Bahgat participated with seven other human rights defenders in an online meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on the challenges of human rights work around the world.
published photo, Getty Images
Bahgat criticized the performance of the head of the National Election Authority last year
Five human rights organizations, including the Egyptian Initiative for Human Rights, have published a list of demands for the Egyptian authorities to improve what they have called “the unprecedented deterioration of the human rights situation” in the country. However, the Egyptian authorities regard these statements as “politicized” and not based on facts.
Also on Wednesday, the Egyptian Court of Cassation upheld a decision to put 13 people, including Egyptian lawyer and former MP Ziad Al-Alimi, and Egyptian-Palestinian activist Ramy Shaath, on the terrorism list for a period of five years. .
The judgments of the Court of Cassation, the highest in Egypt, are final and enforceable.
The 13 detained since 2019 are members of the Hope Alliance, accused of receiving funds from the Muslim Brotherhood to incite revolution and violence. They were placed on the terrorism list in April 2020.
The designation of terrorism involves prosecutors placing people on a terrorism list, and then having a criminal court confirm or reject that list. The person on the list can appeal.
Since Abdel Fattah al-Sisi became President of Egypt in 2014, authorities have launched a crackdown on dissent.
Sisi denied that there are political prisoners in Egypt. Its supporters say the measures are needed to stabilize the country.
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