HRW says Egyptian elections come amidst political repression

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HRW says Egyptian elections come amidst political repression

May 29th, 2014

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Egyptian election Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday that an “intense crackdown” on the opposition in Egypt is creating a “repressive environment that severely undermines the fairness of the elections.”

In a news brief, HRW’s Middle East and North Africa Director Sarah Leah Whitson said: “The mass arrests of thousands of political dissidents, whether Islamist or secular, has all but shut down the political arena and stripped these elections of real meaning.”

Whitson added: “The presidential election cannot mask the ongoing brutal crackdown on peaceful opposition.”

HRW further explained that: “Since the ouster of Mohamed Morsi on 3 July 2013, the military-backed government declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation without providing credible evidence of the main opposition group’s involvement in criminal offenses.”

It continued: “[The military-backed government] has rounded up thousands of [the Muslim Brotherhood’s] members and perceived sympathisers, including most of the group’s senior and mid-level leadership, as well as leading activists from secular groups such as the 6 April Movement.”

In the brief, HRW cited the large number of Muslim Brotherhood members who have been arrested, warning that the number could be much higher: “Mass arrests have swept up at least 16,000 Egyptians and likely thousands more, many solely for peaceful exercise of the rights to free expression, assembly, or membership in an opposition group.”

Regarding the repression against journalists, the rights organisation pointed out that: “Egypt is currently detaining 16 journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, making it among the five worst jailers of journalists.”