By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
President Barack Obama voiced concerns over Egypt’s human rights record during a call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday.
“President Obama also expressed concern about mass trials, the status of NGOs, and the continued imprisonment of journalists and peaceful activists in Egypt, and encouraged President al-Sisi to invest in the political, economic, and social aspirations of the Egyptian people,” the White House said in a readout of the call.
Obama also used the call to offer his condolences to the Egyptian people following a series of terrorist attacks in the country, according to the White House.
The call comes as Human Rights Watch said that Egypt is reversing the gains of its 2011 revolution by militarizing the trials of civilians.
More than 800 civilians have been referred to military prosecutors in the past six weeks based on an October decree that expanded military court authority.
It tasks the army to guard public facilities and vital state institutions for two years, during which those facilities would be treated as military facilities.
Militarizing civilian trials means methodically reversing the reforms achieved during the revolution, which forced former dictator Hosni Mubarak to step down, said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East & North Africa for Human Rights Watch.
www.aa.com.tr/en
