Cairo, three activists arrested for meeting foreign diplomats

Security agents arrested Gasser Abdel-Razek, Karim Ennarah and Mohamed Basheer, members of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). There is no news on their fate and the charges. Paris expresses concern and proposes dialogue on rights. The Egyptian foreign ministry denounces attempts to meddle in internal affairs.

Cairo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Cairo authorities have arrested three activists who are part of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), a leading local organization in defence of human rights in the country. According to the group, the repression was a consequence of a recent meeting between some members and Western ambassadors in the capital.

Yesterday the security forces arrested the executive director Gasser Abdel-Razek and took him from his home in Maadi, a suburb of Cairo to an unknown location. The previous day two other leading members of the NGO were detained: the head of the justice section Karim Ennarah, while on vacation in Dahab, a coastal town in southern Sinai, and the administrator Mohamed Basheer.

So far there is no more information on their fate or the charges they face.

The crackdown against EIPR is allegedly linked to the meeting between its members and some Western ambassadors (among others France, Germany, Italy and Spain) which took place on November 3 in Cairo. At the center of the discussion "issues concerning human rights and ways to support the strengthening of human rights in Egypt and in the world".

The group fights for the defence of civil rights and religious freedom, against the death penalty and is used to publish reports and complaints on violence committed in prison and violations of human rights in general.

Commenting on the arrest of the three activists the French foreign ministry also expressed its deep concern over Basheer's arrest and said France intends to continue its "frank, exacting dialogue with Egypt on human rights issues." Cairo's response was immediate, denouncing interference in internal affairs and an attempt to "influence the open investigation" on the case. Several pro-government Egyptian newspapers also covered the issue, accusing the EIPR and other humanitarian organizations of treason and fomenting chaos, as well as meeting foreign diplomats to undermine the image of the nation.

To maintain control, stop a series of attacks by jihadist groups and ensure security, Abdel Fatah al-Sisis and the government have strengthened the repression of dissent, violating - according to critics - the human and civil rights of the population. In fact, a substantial portion of the population - including the Christian component - applauds the work of the president who in recent years has given more space to minorities by appointing the first Coptic Christian woman to the office of governor and legalizing dozens of churches.