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Intel: How pressure is mounting on Egypt to release detained Americans

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has taken up the case of a US citizen held in Cairo with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry attends a news conference with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian (not pictured) in Cairo, Egypt September 17, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RC19939499A0

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pushed Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on a US citizen that Cairo has detained for six years. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus noted that Pompeo pressed Shoukry Monday on “concerns over press freedom, human rights and Americans detained in Egypt, including Moustafa Kassem.”

Shoukry is in Washington this week for Treasury Department-led talks that seek to bridge Egypt’s disputes with Sudan and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

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