Egyptian NGOs report increasing rights violations over the past decade

Seven non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Egypt have reported a significant increase in human rights abuses during the past decade, particularly following the ascendancy of President Abdelfatah al Sisi in 2013.

According to these NGOs, including the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, a considerable increase in violations followed al Sisi’s request for “authorization” to address the threat posed by the Muslim Brotherhood group.

The “authorization” led to a forceful dispersal of a sit-in protest at Rabaa al Adauiya Square in Cairo, where over 800 people were reportedly killed.

The NGOs’ report claims that this authorization facilitated a rise in censorship, suppression of dissent, and increased human rights abuses, impacting tens of thousands of individuals.

The decade under scrutiny has seen 4,202 death sentences handed down, with 448 carried out after trials which, according to the NGOs, were predominantly reliant on confessions obtained under duress.

Moreover, the report alleges that numerous people have been unjustly incarcerated following markedly unfair trials, with many held in pretrial detention for periods exceeding the legal limit of two years.

These practices have targeted prominent activists, opposition figures, journalists, and digital content creators.

The NGOs highlight North Sinai province as a region greatly impacted by these violations, with residents subjected to forced evictions, unlawful killings, torture, and collective detentions by security forces amidst a military campaign against an Islamic State-affiliated group.

Global organizations such as Human Rights Watch estimate over 60,000 political imprisonments since al Sisi’s rise to power.