By POMED
On December 6, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the U.S. Congress held a hearing to discuss human rights abuses in Egypt. The hearing, which featured the testimony of several experts including POMED’s Amy Hawthorne, focused on the erosion of civil society and the abuse of human rights under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Prior to the the hearing, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry indicated that it expected the hearing to be a “new episode in the deliberate distortion of the situation in Egypt.” The Foreign Ministry further criticized the panel for failing to include “figures from diverse camps and restricting invitations to a list of American activists and analysts known for their ‘absolute bias’ against the Egyptian government.” The statement from the Foreign Ministry concluded by urging the United States to work toward “rejuvenating Egyptian-U.S. relations at a time when stronger relations are needed to bolster security, stability, and [to] strengthen the international fight against terrorism in the Middle East.”