December 2016 - Betty Purcell from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Comission campaigns for the release of Ibrahim Halawa in Dublin's city centre, where family members and supporters held an awareness day as he celebrates his 21st Birthday behind bars in Egypt. Niall Carson/PA Wire/PA Images. All rights reserved.US President Trump’s effusive and unequivocal endorsement of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi following their bilateral meeting on April 3 in Washington D.C. sounded the alarm that concerns over Egypt’s continued persecution of human rights activists have taken a back-seat in terms of the new administration’s foreign policy priorities.
This comes at the worst possible time for Egyptian activists whose voice and activities are being stifled by travel bans, asset freezes, closures and the looming threat of long prison sentences for spurious and vague charges such as receiving foreign funding “with the aim of pursuing acts harmful to national interests or destabilizing the general peace or the country’s independence and its unity.”
The case of Mozn Hassan is illustrative. Just one year ago, Mozn, Egypt’s leading contemporary feminist, was first summoned for questioning in connection with a judicial investigation scrutinising over thirty leading Egyptian rights organisations for receiving foreign funding in contravention of a Mubarak-era law regulating NGOs.
