Egypt slams OHCHR statements over recent crackdown

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Tue, 02 May 2017 - 05:47 GMT

BY

Tue, 02 May 2017 - 05:47 GMT

Zeid_Ra’ad_al-Hussein

Zeid_Ra’ad_al-Hussein

CAIRO - 2 May 2017: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) decried what it called “unfortunate” statements by the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Monday. Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein of Jordan spoke out concerning the “recent crackdown” in Egypt, claiming this will feed radicalism.

“Issuing such irresponsible statements from people who are supposed to be aware of the nature of their positions is shameful,” the MFA spokesperson said in an official statement issued Tuesday, claiming that such statements justify radicalism and terrorism in Egypt.

"We don't see similar comments from the High Commissioner when Egyptian security forces are brutally killed by terrorist organizations while serving their duties, nor strict comments against TV channels which pour their poison and incite violence,” the statement reads.

In a news conference in Geneva, Hussein condemned Egypt's approach to combating Islamist militants, saying it inflames the problem, according to Reuters.

Hussein referenced Egypt’s “state of emergency, the massive numbers of detentions, reports of torture, and continued arbitrary arrests,” according to Reuters, adding that “all of this we believe facilitates radicalization in prisons.”

Abu Zeid called on the High Commissioner not to deliberately misread the situation in Egypt, defending April's declaration of a state of emergency by saying it was passed by the parliament under "rules and restrictions" determined by the constitution under exceptional conditions.

Egypt experienced brutal attacks against two of its largest churches in Tanta and Alexandria on Palm Sunday, killing 45 people and leading President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to declare a three-month state of emergency across the nation, which the parliament later approved.

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