Amnesty calls on British PM to raise human rights concerns with Sisi

Amnesty International urged British Prime Minister David Cameron to raise “key human rights concerns” with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is due to visit the UK later this week.

In a statement Tuesday, Amnesty referred to the crackdown on dissent since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in 2013, including the arrest, charging and trial of “tens of thousands” of people. The crackdown has targeted alleged supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood as well as journalists and human rights activists, the statement said.

“President Sisi’s arrival in the UK is key test of whether David Cameron is prepared to do more than roll out red carpets for authoritarian leaders,” Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said. “We want to see David Cameron personally raising human rights issues in talks with President Sisi.”

Amnesty also called on UK officials to urge Egypt to repeal laws “introduced in the name of restoring ‘stability and security’ but which in practice have eroded the rule of law in Egypt and facilitated gross human rights violations.”

The statement cited both the protest law and the anti-terrorism law.

UK officials should also raise concern over the deaths of hundreds of protesters since 2013 at the hands of security forces, Amnesty said, pointing specifically to the killing of hundreds in the violent dispersal of the Rabea al-Adaweya sit-in.

While Amnesty acknowledged that Egypt does face a security threat, it said that it has “failed to put in place any meaningful safeguards on the use of force by security forces, while official investigations into political violence have whitewashed over their role.”

Sisi’s visit comes amid much controversy, with some 52 members of British Parliament have signed a motion calling on Cameron to rescind Sisi’s invitation. The motion aims to put pressure on the Egyptian government to “take immediate steps to demonstrate its commitment to democratic freedoms and human rights, including the revocation of all death sentences, and to stop licensing equipment for export to the Egyptian military and security forces.” 

The MPs said they believe the official invitation to Sisi “sends a message to the Egyptian regime that such abuses will be tolerated by the [British] government; is concerned that the government continues to license the export of military and security equipment to Egypt.”

Amnesty also called on the UK authorities to stop the transfer of arms or equipment that may be used by the Egyptian authorities to commit or facilitate serious human rights violations. 

A visit to the UK last September by Egypt’s military chief of staff, Mohamed Hegazy, has also come under scrutiny in the days before Sisi's visit. The Guardian revealed on Monday that lawyers acting for the Muslim Brotherhood’s dismantled Freedom and Justice Party are threatening to legally challenge the British government’s alleged decision to grant immunity to Hegazy during his visit.

The lawyers told the Guardian that, upon approaching the British police to request legal measures against Hegazy, they were informed that Hegazy had been granted temporary diplomatic immunity by the Foreign Office for the duration of his visit. The immunity would protect Hegazy from arrest or interrogation during his stay in the UK.

The Freedom and Justice Party posted a translation of the Guardian's article on its website, calling the revelation "a huge scandal."