Brussels, 01/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - During the evening of Tuesday 31 May, the European Union reiterated that Egypt should act in accordance with its national and international commitments “to promote and respect human rights and fundamental freedoms as guaranteed by its Constitution”.
“We call on the Egyptian authorities to review the charges against those arrested or prosecuted for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly”, the spokesperson for High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said in a press release. The spokesperson stated that over the course of recent weeks and months, many journalists, activists, protesters and human rights defenders had been arrested or suffered intimidation through travel bans, court summons or the threat of asset freezes. Mogherini's spokesperson also said that Egypt should work to bring counter-terrorism laws and laws regulating its Assembly into line with the Egyptian Constitution.
These statements come after the arrest on 30 May of the head, secretary-general and undersecretary of the Egyptian Press Syndicate - “a worrying development” that follows “the unprecedented raid” of the Egyptian security forces on the Press Syndicate's building on 1 May (see EUROPE 11545), according to Mogherini's spokesperson. The spokesperson believed that the arrest “reflects broader limitations on freedom of expression and press freedom in Egypt”. The three members of the Press Syndicate are due to appear before the criminal court in Cairo for secretly sheltering suspects against whom an arrest warrant had been issued, and for publishing false information threatening public peace. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)