Australian PM becomes latest leader to put aside human rights concerns and extend invitation to Sisi

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnball has become the latest leader to extend an invitation to Egypt’s Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, saying he would be welcome in the country. Turnball will also visit Egypt in an attempt to boost bilateral relations and security co-operation, including how the two countries can confront terrorism.

The visits were agreed upon at the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, though no official date has been set. If Sisi goes ahead with the planned visit he will be the first Egyptian president to make an official visit to Australia.

There has been an outcry from human rights activists who believe such a visit whitewashes Egypt‘s human rights abuses. Enforced disappearances are on the rise, whilst conditions in detention are abysmal – detainees are regularly subject to torture, sexual abuse, the denial of medical care, unfair trials and the death penalty.

Australia knows more than other countries the extent of Egypt’s unjust judicial system. In December 2013 Latvian-Australian journalist Peter Greste and two Al-Jazeera colleagues were arrested in Egypt for reporting news that was ‘damaging to national security’ in a case that caused an international outcry. Greste was imprisoned for over a year, then deported to Australia and tried in absentia.

Commenting on Turnball’s invitation, a Cairo-based human rights activist told ABC news, “It sends a message saying that we care about our commercial and economic interests but not human rights.”