Egypt: Foreign minister attributes harm caused to country’s reputation to Muslim Brotherhood

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has stated that the international criticism directed at his country regarding human rights abuses is generated by the powerful media machine owned by the Muslim Brotherhood (a banned organisation in Egypt).

Shoukry affirmed: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs published data that clarifies the achievements and ongoing development in the country. We need a powerful media apparatus that can reach out to others and be influential, and this requires efforts and capabilities.”

The minister referred in a speech he delivered before the Foreign Relations Committee of the Egyptian House of Representatives to the presence of: “A powerful media machine owned by terrorist organisations, especially the Muslim Brotherhood, which targets the stability in Egypt, so it is not in their interests to show the positive changes that are currently taking place in in the country,” reported Al-Ahram.

Shoukry expressed his rejection of the statement issued by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on the human rights file in Egypt, while stressing the importance of clarifying the actual situation in the country.

Opinion: The UN has exposed the failures of the state in terms of human rights in Egypt

A few days ago, around 31 member states of the UNHRC issued a joint statement in which they criticised the Egyptian government’s human rights policy targeting political activists.

The statement called on the Egyptian government to stop prosecuting activists, journalists and those it considers political oppositionists using anti-terrorism laws, while demanding the unconditional release of prisoners and lifting restrictions on freedom of expression.

Despite the recurrent criticism of Egypt’s human rights record by local and international organisations, Cairo is still maintaining an official narrative about the authorities’ full adherence to respecting freedoms and rights, while asserting that all allegations in this regard are lies.