“Yet days later, a court in Egypt sentenced Alaa Abdel Fattah, a liberal democratic activist, to five years in prison along with 20 other human rights activists.” McCain also calls for the release of “prominent youth leaders” Ahmed Douma, Ahmed Maher, Yara Sallam, and American citizen Mohamed Soltan, all of whom “remain behind bars under a deeply restrictive anti protest law…” “Such actions are not in keeping with President al-Sisi’s stated commitments,” McCain states, “and in fact call into question the direction in which Egypt is headed.”
McCain asserted that “the need to defeat [the Islamic State] and other extremists groups in the region must not blind us from our human rights commitments.” “I strongly believe that the United States must support the Egyptian government’s fight against terrorism and extremism,” the statement continued. “But there does not have to be a trade-off between democracy and security…” McCain also voices concerns that the new anti-terror law enacted by President Sisi this week “will serve to institutionalize arbitrary detentions and place undue restrictions on civil society operations.” “The only way to achieve lasting peace and security in Egypt is by creating pluralistic democratic institutions and respecting human rights,” it concludes.
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“Statement by Senator John McCain on Human Rights Concerns in Egypt” John McCain (English) 2/27/15