Press Release
By: Committee for Justice
Geneva: October 28, 2021
The Committee for Justice (CFJ) director Ahmed Mefreh criticizes the EU’s official view on the real human rights situation in Egypt, stressing that the EU should consider human rights as a priority in partnership with the Egyptian regime.
Limited European human rights statements:
In his remarks during his participation in the meeting of the Subcommittee on Human Rights in the European Parliament on Wednesday, Mefreh discussed the alarming situation of human rights and the ongoing repression of civil society in Egypt. The meeting was also attended bt Mona Seid, the sister of the prominent Egyptian human rights defender, Alaa Abdel Fattah, along with Claudio Regeni, and Paola Devendi, the parents of the Italian researcher who died in Egypt as a result of torture, Giulio Regeni.
Mefreh stressed that during a year and a half, the EU issued only a limited number of statements regarding the human rights situation in Egypt:
“The EU referred only once or twice publicly to human rights violations in Egypt, the most important of course was what happened to the colleagues at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. Other than that, they continue their unsound policy in dealing with human rights in Egypt, contributing to increasing human rights violations by the Egyptian regime, in what sounds like a green light for the Egyptian regime to continue human rights violations, particularly against human rights defenders.”
Human rights are a priority for partnership with Egypt:
Mefreh referred to the statement issued by the High Representative of the European Union in Cairo, on September 3, 2020, when he was asked a question about human rights in Egypt, and he responded saying it was concerning for Egypt and that we should not take all information about human rights violations seriously, as he mentioned in the presser in Cairo.
“Unfortunately this type of approach towards human rights, especially those related to prison conditions was not only reflected in that press conference, but it continued in the EU’s policy towards human rights violations in Egypt,” Mefreh said.
At the conclusion of his remarks, Mefreh stressed the need for the EU and its concerned bodies to take respect for human rights more seriously, bearing in mind that the issue of human rights is a priority in partnership with the Egyptian regime, and not to obtain information about human rights violations from the regime there only.
“I hope the EU and its agencies will deal with human rights more seriously, and to consider it a priority in partnership with the Egyptian regime, and to refrain from relying exclusively on the rhetoric of the Egyptian regime rather than other reports on human rights violations.”
