08 Sep 2021; MEMO: Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the United Nations Human Rights Council to set up an independent international mechanism to monitor and report on the human rights situation in Egypt and investigate grave human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial executions.
In a report released yesterday, HRW said the Egyptian police and National Security Agency officers have in recent years killed dozens of alleged "terrorists" across the country in unlawful extrajudicial executions which authorities later claim are "shootouts".
The report concluded that "the alleged armed militants killed in the so-called shootouts did not pose an imminent danger to security forces or others when they were killed and in many cases had already been in custody."
The rights watchdog called on Egypt's international partners. including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany to halt weapons transfers to Egypt and impose sanctions against the security agencies and officials responsible for the ongoing abuses.
The report's release coincides with Operation Bright Star; a series of combined and joint training exercises led by United States and Egyptian forces in Egypt. This year 21 countries are taking part in the military drill which began on 2 September and will continue until 17 September.
