Egypt cracks down on human rights groups
As a Human Rights Watch delegation is denied entry to Egypt, the country's own human and civil rights groups face the threat of dissolution by the government.
On Aug. 12, a special delegation from Human Rights Watch was to visit Cairo. However, Egypt's government had other plans.
The organization was to deliver a briefing alongside the release of its comprehensive report on the Egyptian security forces' “clearance” of Rabia al-Adawiya and other Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins last year that resulted in the deaths of at least 1,150 people.
On Aug. 10, when Human Rights Watch attempted to enter the country, the Egyptian authorities held director Ken Roth, head of Middle East and North Africa division Sarah Leah Whitson and fellow Omar Shakir up at the Cairo airport and refused them access to the country. The Interior Ministry claimed that the holdup was due to nothing more than a failure on the organization's part to attain proper visas before travelling, and that it had informed Human Rights Watch that its delegation must get travel papers in advance.
However, Whitson confirmed to Al-Monitor that the organization followed the same procedure that it has “for decades” in Egypt, and had received no contact from the Interior Ministry prior to the trip.
