Egypt to take measures against Human Rights Watch

Egypt's Human Rights Committee have announced that an official complaint will be filed, and measures will be taken, against Human Rights Watch (HRW), after the latter released a damning report on systematic torture in the country's jails, reports the Middle East Monitor. The issue is expected to be officially raised by a parliamentary delegation during its participation in the inter-Parliamentary Union conference in St Petersburg, later this week. Member of the delegation and Second Deputy Chairman of Human Rights Committee Margaret Azer said that they would "reveal the lies of the organisation." A 63-page report, which was condemned by the Egyptian government, found that President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's government has allowed widespread arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and the abuse of detainees, in what they termed "an assembly line of torture." After interviewing some 19 former detainees as part of the investigation, they talked in depth about their experiences of abuse which included beatings, rape, genital electrocutions and fingernail extractions. The Egyptian Human Rights Committee denied the allegations, claiming that no political prisoner had ever reported incidents of torture. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs have also accused the NGO of bias, questioning its funding and alleging to receive support from the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt has identified as a terrorist organisation. Two weeks later, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi told US officials in New York that human rights should not be judged from a Western perspective, arguing that Egypt had taken numerous measures to ensure the economic and social well-being of its citizens. Egypt's increasing disregard for human rights and the rule of law since the military coup of 2013 that ousted democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi have long been documented by activists. Some 60,000 political prisoners are held in the country, as the government also persecutes human rights campaigners and their organisations, becoming subject to severe limitations.