Egyptian politicians accuse US of violating rights in Ferguson
Egyptian authorities are calling for an investigation into the US' alleged violation of the right to peaceful protest, when US police forces used excessive force against demonstrators in the city of Ferguson, Mo.
CAIRO — A new crisis is looming for US-Egyptian relations after Cairo officials verbally attacked US authorities, accusing them of violating human rights during protests in Ferguson, Mo. Protests were staged in a number of US states following a Missouri grand jury's decision not to indict a police officer who killed Michael Brown, a young African-American man.
This comes after a period of strained relations between Cairo and Washington following the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian authorities' dispersal of Mohamed Morsi supporters at sit-ins at Rabia al-Adawiya and Nahda squares. Washington adopted punitive measures against the Egyptian army as a sign of opposition to what it deemed violations of peaceful protesters’ rights, even announcing the suspension of a large portion of military aid.
The new tension in US-Egyptian relations comes in light of a rapprochement between Cairo and Moscow, with the announcement of a planned visit to Cairo by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Egyptian politicians called for the formation of an Egyptian fact-finding committee to track what they called breaches by US authorities against protesters in Ferguson. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued an official statement criticizing US police treatment of protesters in the wake of the grand jury decision not to make an indictment. The statement further called on US authorities to observe self-restraint and to respect the right of individuals to peacefully assemble. Moreover, Egyptian Interior Ministry spokesman Hani Abdel Latif said US police used excessive force against peaceful protesters as if they were dealing with arms dealers.
