07/02/2019 (Agence Europe) – On Thursday 7 February, the Chairman of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights, Pier Antonio Panzeri, condemned the harassment and pressure suffered by four directors of Egyptian human rights NGOs in retaliation for their meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on 29 January. He described the defamation and judicial inquiries against them as “unacceptable”. These directors are charged with “insulting the state, threatening national security and damaging the interests of the country”. "Nobody is fooled. This is a clear attempt to intimidate critical and dissenting voices in order to silence or discourage human rights defenders from speaking to any high-level foreign interlocutor or international organisation," said Mr Panzeri. According to him, Egypt is sinking deeper into an authoritarian regime every day. (CG)