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US lawmakers grapple with Egypt policy as Sisi’s clampdown continues

As President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ratchets up the rights abuses, some in Congress say the Trump administration is giving the Egyptian strongman a pass.
Egyptian riot police stand guard in Egypt's capital Cairo on September 27, 2019. - Egypt's President dismissed today a call for a second weekend of protests as "no reason for concern", with hundreds already arrested in an intensifying crackdown on a rare show of discontent on the streets. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)        (Photo credit should read KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Human rights advocates urged Congress on Wednesday to make continued military assistance to Egypt contingent on Cairo improving its dire human rights record. 

“The United States has important strategic interests in Egypt, but they do not justify looking away from this human rights disaster,” said Amy Hawthorne, deputy director of research at the Project on Middle East Democracy. 

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