Egypt rejects OHCHR report on its human rights conditions

CAIRO - 28 September 2019: The Foreign Ministry strongly rejected a United Nations Commission on Human Rights (OHCHR) report on human rights conditions in Egypt.

The ministry’s spokesman, Ahmed Hafez, rejected what was mentioned in the report saying that it is not acceptable to see such a kind of document coming from a United Nations organ, which he criticized for lacking accuracy and being based on assumptions and impressions that only aimed at disseminating information that is contradictory to reality and facts on the ground.

He said in a statement released late Friday night that the report, as the UNCHR itself has indicated, is founded on uncertified information which only means that the allegations it contains are based on wrong perceptions and uncorroborated hearsay.

“Rushing to make judgments” is an act that reflects non-professionalism on the part of the OHCHR, he charged.

He asserted that Egyptian authorities abide by the law and act with clarity and transparency when they take legal action against any person.

He also asserted that no citizen in Egypt is detained or brought to trial for making actions that are allowed by the law or for criticizing the government. But, for sure, a citizen who commits a crime is punished for breaking the law, he added.

He made it clear that Egyptian law and constitution grant people the right to protest peacefully. “But, to exercise that right they have to comply with certain standards and rules,” including, informing the authorities concerned of their intention to stage protests and ensuring that they do not act in a way that disturbs social peace and harms the rights of other citizens, he said.