Sir, – Mostafa Youssef from the Egyptian Embassy in Dublin (March 19th) takes strong exception to Scott Long's opinion piece ("Western governments should demand Egypt stop its 'murderous repression'", March 11th). He complains of "unsubstantiated accusations and misleading claims against the Egyptian government".
Mr Long describes Egypt’s brutal crackdown on protest and NGOs, and the targeting and imprisonment of LGBT people. He says that Ibrahim Halawa, an Irish national, faces a grotesque mass trial and possibly the death penalty for alleged murder and terrorism he did not commit. These are all true. Add torture of detainees, systematic discrimination against women and religious communities, and epidemic-levels of sexual violence. A human rights crisis is clearly engulfing the country.
Mr Youssef presents a picture of the Egyptian criminal justice system belied by Amnesty International’s research, including monitoring of mass trials where courts handed down hundreds of death sentences after grossly unfair trials.
It is also at odds with Ireland’s view. In its November intervention during Egypt’s “Universal Periodic Review” by the UN, Ireland said it “is greatly concerned by judicial and detention policies in Egypt, including the use of capital punishment and mass trials, that threaten the rule of law and fall short of international standards on due process”.
Mr Youssef is sadly correct that Egypt has experienced terrorist attacks on a massive scale and is at the frontline in the regional fight against terrorism. However, this is being used to justify Egypt’s repression and massive human rights violations against any dissenting voices, and to issue draconian laws.
Trying a then child of 17 years on trumped-up charges for violent acts he could not have committed – via a mass trial where justice is impossible – can serve no legitimate national or regional security interests. Ibrahim Halawa is an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience being detained solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression and assembly. We continue to call for his immediate and unconditional release and with all charges dropped.
Mr Youssef says the “real message is of a promising Egyptian economy”. Yes, this is terribly important. Egypt’s economic and political stability are critical to the region. But as Mr Long says, “economic progress is inseparable from human rights”. States and global business cannot turn a blind eye to human rights abuses when engaging in trade and investment in Egypt.
The terrorist threat is real and grave, and Egypt needs support in this. But human rights cannot be sacrificed on the altar of counterterrorism, economic progress or trade. The international community has not done enough to challenge Egypt and has remained silent. The UN Human Rights Council has yet to step up to the plate and address the appalling human rights situation in the country.
So the media must tell this story. It must carry pieces like Mr Long’s, telling unpopular truths – particularly since Egypt’s national media is biased towards the government and cannot be relied upon to do so. As Mr Youssef says, it is “incumbent upon those in the media to report in a fair and unbiased manner”. It is an often difficult job for journalists and activists to highlight human rights violations when only economic good news or terrorism are being sold. – Yours, etc,
COLM O’GORMAN,
Executive Director,
Amnesty International
Ireland,
48 Fleet Street,
Dublin 2.