Foreign Ministry: Global reports on January 25 anniversary inaccurate

Egypt's Foreign Ministry issued a statement Tuesday criticizing international coverage of the events that ensued in the wake of the January 25 anniversary, saying it largely ignored acts of violence committed by Muslim Brotherhood supporters.

“It is strange how such reviews failed to convey the reality, choosing to turn a blind eye to acts of killing, burning and horror conducted by supporters of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood group,” the statement read.

Clashes that took place on the fourth anniversary of the January 25 revolution resulted in the deaths of 23 people, according to the Ministry of Health.

State media and government institutions were quick to point fingers at the Muslim Brotherhood for disturbing the peace and tainting the January 25 anniversary, blaming them for the violence that occurred.

The Foreign Ministry’s statement referred to the killing of Shaimaa al-Sabbagh on Saturday in Talaat Harb square, downtown Cairo, saying western media ignored efforts by Egypt's prosecutor general to investigate the incident.

Images and videos of Sabbagh minutes before her death, and as she was shot, circulated widely and were picked up by several foreign media outlets. 

The statement criticized foreign media for not showing images of the government inspection of areas in which victims were reported, or statements by the prime minister and interior minister stating their intention to discover and punish those responsible for Sabbagh's death.

In a press conference on Monday, Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim expressed his condolences to Sabbagh’s family, saying that if investigations showed that a member of the security forces was behind her death, he would personally send the perpetrator to court.

During the press conference, Ibrahim said that the Interior Ministry had no role in the violence on January 25’s anniversary, insisting that security forces do not carry weapons during peaceful protests. He went on to blame the Muslim Brotherhood for the death toll, saying they carried weapons and fired at citizens.

The Foreign Ministry's statement also criticized global reports for failing to condemn acts of violence against citizens, security forces and public and private property. 

“Incidents of random shooting at citizens and bombings have not been mentioned in Western reports either,” the Foreign Ministry added.

The ministry reiterated that it is the state’s responsibility to protect citizens under the law, adding that “this is what happens in all world countries, including Western countries.”

It further maintained that it is the state’s responsibility to confront terrorism, adding that European countries did the same when standing up to recent terrorist acts.