Tineke Strik (Greens, NL), standing rapporteur for Egypt and Mounir Satouri (Greens, FR), Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights, issued the following statement on Thursday, 19 June:

“We are concerned about credible reports of the deportation and mistreatment of citizens, including from EU member states, by the Egyptian authorities over the past couple of days.

“Thousands of activists from around the world travelled to Egypt to participate in the ‘Global March to Gaza’ and following their arrival reported about (incommunicado) detention, physical harassment, unjustified denials of entry, and the confiscation of passports and mobile phones.”

“Under Article 2 of the EU-Egypt Association Agreement, the Egyptian authorities committed themselves to the respect of democratic principles and fundamental human rights as set out in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. More recently, the EU and Egypt agreed to an upgraded partnership that reiterates cooperation grounded…