Egypt criticises 'politicised' HRW report

Egypt lashed out Tuesday at a Human Rights Watch report condemning "flagrant human rights abuses" during the first year of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's rule, dismissing it as "politicised".

The watchdog released its report on the first anniversary of the inauguration of Sisi, who was sworn in on June 8, 2014, after having ousted his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, in July 2013.

"The report is politicised and lacks the basic rules of precision and objectivity," the foreign ministry said in a statement, accusing HRW of victimising Egypt.

The report reflected HRW's "endorsement of terrorist operations and supports those who carry out acts of violence", charged the ministry.

It accused the New York-based group of "leading a systematic campaign against Egypt".

HRW charged Monday that "over the past year, Sisi and his cabinet have provided near total impunity for security force abuses and issued a raft of laws that severely curtailed civil and political rights".

Since Morsi's ouster, hundreds of his supporters have faced a brutal government crackdown that has left hundreds killed in street protests and thousands jailed.

Hundreds of people have also been sentenced to death after mass speedy trials described by the UN as "unprecedented in recent history".

Rights groups accuse Sisi of establishing a regime more repressive than that of veteran ex-president Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled in a 2011 popular uprising fuelled largely by abuses by police.

Jihadists have retaliated with deadly attacks targeting security forces, especially in Egypt's North Sinai which borders the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of police and soldiers have been killed.
Source: AFP