Egypt’s House of Representatives expressed its total rejection and dissatisfaction with the resolution adopted by the European Parliament (EP) on Thursday regarding the human rights situation in Egypt.
In a statement on Friday 26/11/2022, the House of Representatives said that the resolution was based on a package of inaccuracies and false allegations that have nothing to do with reality, and that it only reflects a biased view of the real conditions in Egypt.
The parliament completely rejects this “disappointing” resolution by the European Parliament, showing the EP’s “unjustified insistence” on continuing its imperative and tutelary approach towards Egypt.
This approach is based on false facts judging and assessing the developments of events in the Egyptian State, the parliament said, deeming this matter as a “flagrant interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state and in violation of UN conventions, a matter that we could not bypass or turn a blind eye to it.”
These unfounded claims are totally unacceptable, it made it clear.
The resolution lacks credibility and adopts an unacceptable and non-constructive policy of stigmatization and defamation, which has been proven to fail throughout history, the statement read.
It was also issued without seeking the opinion of the Egyptian Parliament – a full right – regarding the unfounded allegations, it added.
Such “mere talk” was based on inaccurate information, expressing an unwelcome political orientation. However, the Egyptian Parliament decided to respond to some provisions to clarify the truth, especially as the resolution stated that the state of emergency has been applied in Egypt since 2017, the House said. “The state of emergency was suspended in October 2021 and has not been renewed since then,” it added.
The resolution dealt with Egypt’s alleged imposition and implementation of the death penalty against children. This is unrealistic and unbelievable, as Egyptian legislation under the Child Law prohibits the imposition of “sentence to death, life imprisonment or aggravated imprisonment” on children, it added.
The resolution stated that Alaa Ahmed Saif el-Islam Abdel-Fattah has been arbitrarily arrested on baseless charges and that visits are only permitted intermittently and due to international pressure. In fact, he was sentenced by the judicial authority to five years imprisonment for proving that he committed criminal offences, in Case No. (1228) of 2021, where he faced a fair trial that guaranteed him the right to defense and other guarantees. In addition, he was allowed to meet his family and friends regularly, the House said.
The resolution indicated that a person named Ayman Hudhoud was tortured to death on March 3, 2022, and that no independent autopsy or credible investigation was conducted by the Egyptian Public Prosecution. The fact is that the Egyptian Public Prosecution, as part of the judicial authority, has investigated the incident and issued a clear statement indicating that there was no criminal suspicion of his death and that an autopsy was conducted by the Forensic Medicine Authority, clarifying that he died due to chronic heart disease and that there were no signs of injury in his body that indicated the use of violence, it added.
The House of Representatives said the resolution included urging the Egyptian authorities to immediately release a group of citizens, claiming that they were wrongfully arrested. “The truth is that these citizens are either held in the implementation of judicial rulings issued by the Egyptian courts in fair trials or are imprisoned pending investigations according to internationally-recognized criminal procedure laws.”
The Egyptian Parliament noted that the resolution flagrantly violated the independence of the Public Prosecution Office and the Egyptian judiciary, a matter that violates the guarantees of the judiciary independence under international conventions, it added.
The Parliament condemned in the strongest terms the attempt to prejudice the Egyptian judiciary, which brooks no interference in its affairs, whether from internal or external parties, throughout its history, the House said.
It stated that the European Parliament has not followed up on developments in the situation in Egypt or intentionally neglected them for incomprehensible reasons.
It is well known that the Egyptian State has issued a promising national strategy for human rights, totally put into force with all the necessary capabilities by all state institutions and authorities, in addition to the fact that the Egyptian State is committed to its commitments to international conventions and covenants concerning the human rights file; this makes the state authorities obligated to apply the articles ratified in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the statement read.
The Egyptian House of Representatives said that the resolution deliberately neglected to praise or refer to efforts made by Egypt to render successful the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 27) to the UNFCCC hosted by Sharm El Sheikh city. On the contrary, it tried to detract from that matter by referring to allegations about Egyptian restrictions on representatives of Egyptian civil society during the conference, it added.
The Egyptian Parliament expresses its dissatisfaction with the targeting of Egypt by the European Parliament, particularly after Egypt’s hosting of COP27, saying Egypt has proven to the whole world its notable success in hosting that great global event, with unprecedented wide participation, resulting in tangible results that expressed the needs and demands of the entire world to save the planet..
Instead of the EP’s monitoring of the human rights situation in Egypt under undocumented information, it should pay attention to challenges facing the EU countries to advance human rights in light of the flagrant violations there, foremost of which are the dangers and systematic racism suffered by immigrants, refugees and ethnic minorities in some European countries, as well as the growing phenomena that threaten the security and peace of society, such as Islamophobia, hate speech, violence against women, crimes against minors, and street violence, the statement read.
The Egyptian Parliament affirms its keenness to extend the bonds of friendship and cooperation with all partners, including the Europeans, understanding the desire of some parliamentary institutions to express their interest in the Egyptian internal affairs due to Cairo’s political weight, especially as it is always the pillar of security and stability in the region. However, this concern must be based on mutual respect and cooperation away from the policies of dictation, monitoring and interference in internal affairs, it added.
Upgrading the human rights system in Egypt has become a national goal, motivated by a desire to achieve the interest of the Egyptian citizens, meet their aspirations for a decent life and preserve their rights and freedoms. All relevant state institutions are devoting their efforts to achieve this goal. The state is currently conducting a national dialogue that groups all political and civil parties. Egypt also established an institutional framework for the President’s exercise of his constitutional right to pardon some prisoners through the Presidential Pardon Committee. Those steps show the State’s desire to chart paths in various fields, especially economic, political, social, and other fields related to rights and freedoms; to transfer Egyptian policies to a new path that meets the aspirations of the people at all levels, the House said.
The Egyptian House of Representatives will spare no effort towards achieving this goal, through enacting or amending the necessary legislation, with no need for guardians other than the Egyptian people, who are the source of the authority, it concluded.
Source: State Information Service Egypt