Egyptian rights activists in the United States accuse the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of targeting their loved ones to put pressure on them in silence, forcing people to President Joe Biden pressured Egypt to address their human rights agenda.
Sherif Mansour, program coordinator of the Washington, Middle East and North Africa program at the Committee to Protect Journalists, said Egyptian security forces had attacked three of his relatives’ homes in Egypt since Aug. 20. arresting several people.
All but one were released; His cousin Reda has been accused of being a member of a “terrorist group” and is still in custody pending trial.
“For the first 45 days, we didn’t even know where he was,” said Mansour, who was also accused in absentia of terrorism in his cousin’s case, as were his father and brother. “During his arrest, Reda was often receiving food and medication. It is only now that they have allowed him to visit on a monthly basis and he is able to send letters to his family. “
Reda’s personal testimony sent to his family revealed that he was questioned about Mansour’s family in the U.S. and whether he communicated with them on social media or through other means.
“I have not been in any particular contact with my family in Egypt so as not to put them in trouble. It has been consistent and consistent over the last six months, ”Mansour told Al Jazeera.
Thousands retained
The Egyptian embassy in Washington, DC did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment before it was published.
In a telephone interview last week with MBC Masr television, el-Sisi responded to the criticism, telling Egyptians to keep an eye on a “foreign conspiracy” involved in domestic stress. “Whoever is targeting me or the system in Egypt, of course, is targeting the people of Egypt. This is what the Egyptians should know, ”he said.
But a coalition of rights groups comprising the Guardian of Human Rights and Democracy for an Arab World Now (DAWN) said relatives of Egyptian critics abroad have been inadvertently arrested. regular and keep them long without trial or accusation.
Ten years after the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak, some 60,000 Egyptians remain in captivity after the break-up of political opponents, including members of the Muslim Brotherhood , as well as human rights and democratic activists.
Many dissidents were forced to flee and remain as refugees. Journalists trying to find government rights violations were regularly targeted.
For Biden’s administration to succeed in influencing the rights situation in Egypt he must put money where his mouth is.
“We have seen this pattern of fear and tactics of fear against the families of opponents, including domestic assaults, persecution, arrest and travel bans,” said Amr Magdi, researcher in the Middle East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch.
“In the worst cases, we have arrested family members.” They will be arrested and rubber persecutors will stamp any charges against them without any evidence and will be detained without a pre-trial stop. “
As of August, at least four U.S.-based Egyptian activists say their families have been targeted, including the family of Egyptian American rights activist Mohamed Soltan.
Soltan’s three cousins were recently detained during a home attack and asked about his work as director of Freedom Campaign, an independent human rights group based in Washington, DC, HRW.
Soltan was a political prisoner in Egypt for two years after being arrested during a brutal and deadly break-in at a sit-in at Rabaa Cairo Square in 2013. He sued a former prime minister. Egyptian Hazem el-Beblawi in June in a U.S. court, accused him of arranging his torture in prison.
SA-Egypt Links
Among the reports, rights groups are pushing the newly elected Biden administration to reconsider Washington’s relationship with Cairo – the second largest U.S. foreign-backed recipient since the U.S. government’s move. Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979.
The U.S. has given Egypt $ 50bn in military aid and $ 30bn in economic aid since 1978, according to U.S. State Department figures, while bilateral trade between the two countries totaled $ 8.6 bn in 2019.
Shortly after his election, President Donald Trump welcomed el-Sisi to the White House, where he praised him for doing “a commendable job in a very difficult situation”. The Trump administration has not stopped publicly criticizing Egypt about its human rights agenda, and observers hope the Biden administration will do more.
Former US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as they hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 2018 UN General Assembly [File: Carlos Barria/Reuters]
“The administration must make clear to the Egyptian government the steps it can take to address their rights concerns,” said Timothy Kaldas, a non-resident of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, a group -based in Washington, DC.
“But if they talk broadly about respecting human rights and democracy and do not have specific demands, it will be more difficult to get some kind of result. “
Biden is also under pressure from within his Democratic Party. U.S. speakers Don Beyer and Tom Malinowski, recent founder of Egypt’s Human Rights Caucus, have said that bilateral U.S.-Egypt relations should prioritize respect for human rights and accountability .
“America’s interests have not been served by a policy of unconditional support for the Egyptian military, while reducing the human rights abuses, government corruption, and mistreatment of American citizens,” Malinowski said in a statement last month.
“Egypt’s Human Rights Caucus will emerge and help shape the growing consensus in Congress that we need to rebalance our relationship with this important country. “
Weapons deal
In a tweet in July, primary school candidate Biden criticized el-Sisi for arresting Egyptian militants and targeting their families, calling it “inappropriate”. “There will be no more blank reviews for Trump’s ‘favorite dictator’,” Biden wrote.
The human rights situation in Egypt was also on the agenda at the February 23 call between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.
“The fact that it was raised in the secretary’s first call by his Egyptian agency speaks to the priority we attach to this issue,” the State Department said. Ned Price advised reporters following a press release. “That is where we want to see progress.
Mohamed Amashah is finally home after 486 days in an Egyptian prison for holding a protest sign. It is unacceptable to arrest, torture and deport activists such as Sarah Hegazy and Mohamed Soltan or to threaten their families. No more blank reviews for Trump’s “favorite dictator.” https://t.co/RtZkbGh6ik
– Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) 12 July 2020
But reports of the day revealed that Soltan’s cousins had been arrested, Biden’s administration announced the sale of $ 200m worth of weapons to Egypt.
Price defended the move as a “normal refill of defense weapons”, but HRW’s Magdi said it was “a step in the wrong direction… [that] showing messages against the Egyptian government ”.
“Consistency in human rights advocacy is crucial,” Magdi told Al Jazeera.
Kaldas questioned whether the sale shows how far the Biden administration is willing to go to align their security priorities with its concerns about rights and democracy in Egypt. “For Biden’s administration to succeed in influencing the rights situation in Egypt it needs to put money where its mouth is,” he said.
“There has to be a substantial carcass and it has to be ready to take away what the Egyptian government wants and not just weapons and not just money – it’s also diplomatic clout, it’s do not recognize it. “