66 French, European MPs condemn human rights situation in Egypt

Some 66 French and European MPs from various political parties condemned the human rights situation in Egypt and the “unprecedented escalation of oppression,” calling for the release of the imprisoned people “for their defence of human rights.”

This came in an article published on Friday by the French newspaper Le Monde, in which 52 French parliamentarians from the French National Assembly and 14 European parliament members called to release the Egyptian-Palestinian activist Rami Shaath and others.

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The signatories belonging mostly to the president’s party, La République En Marche! and The Republicans Party, along with environmentalists and the extreme left, stated: “On 25 January 2011, the Egyptians went out to the streets in demand of livelihood, liberty, and social justice. After nine years, the result is clear: the change they had asked for did not take place.”

“We are even witnessing an unprecedented escalation of oppression that is currently being exerted against civil society, human rights defenders, political activists, lawyers and journalists,” the officials added in the article published on Friday, at the initiative of MP Mirai Klapo.

Note: Article updated on 4 February 2019 at 09:08 GMT to state that the signatories were 52 French parliamentarians from the French National Assembly and 14 European parliament members