Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

World

Egypt rounds up 19 rights activists: Amnesty

-

Egyptian authorities arrested at least 19 lawyers and rights activists on Thursday, Amnesty International said, condemning what it called an "appalling setback".

The rights group called the arrests "an alarming escalation of a crackdown on human rights workers" in Egypt.

"Today's chilling wave of arrests... is yet another appalling setback for human rights in Egypt," said Najia Bounaim, Amnesty's North Africa campaigns head.

"Anyone who dares to speak out about human rights violations in Egypt today is in danger."

Eleven people close to Egypt's banned Muslim Brotherhood, including human rights activists, were arrested on Thursday, their lawyer said.

Lawyer Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsud earlier told AFP that 11 activists close to the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested and expected to appear before a judge.

The Brotherhood was outlawed and branded a terrorist organisation in December 2013, months after the military ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi following mass protests against his rule.

Jihadists have waged an insurgency since Morsi's ouster, while the authorities have made thousands of arrests in a crackdown on dissent.

Egyptian authorities arrested at least 19 lawyers and rights activists on Thursday, Amnesty International said, condemning what it called an “appalling setback”.

The rights group called the arrests “an alarming escalation of a crackdown on human rights workers” in Egypt.

“Today’s chilling wave of arrests… is yet another appalling setback for human rights in Egypt,” said Najia Bounaim, Amnesty’s North Africa campaigns head.

“Anyone who dares to speak out about human rights violations in Egypt today is in danger.”

Eleven people close to Egypt’s banned Muslim Brotherhood, including human rights activists, were arrested on Thursday, their lawyer said.

Lawyer Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsud earlier told AFP that 11 activists close to the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested and expected to appear before a judge.

The Brotherhood was outlawed and branded a terrorist organisation in December 2013, months after the military ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi following mass protests against his rule.

Jihadists have waged an insurgency since Morsi’s ouster, while the authorities have made thousands of arrests in a crackdown on dissent.

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

You may also like:

World

Calling for urgent action is the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Business

The cathedral is on track to reopen on December 8 - Copyright AFP Ludovic MARINParis’s Notre-Dame Cathedral, ravaged by fire in 2019, is on...

Business

Saudi Aramco President & CEO Amin Nasser speaks during the CERAWeek oil summit in Houston, Texas - Copyright AFP Mark FelixPointing to the still...

Business

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal infers that some workers might be falling out of the job market altogether.