EGYPTIAN MFA RECEIVES HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 000534 SIPDIS SIPDIS DRL FOR CASTEEL E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2018 TAGS: PHUM KIRF PGOV PTER KISL EG SUBJECT: EGYPTIAN MFA RECEIVES HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT AND COMMENTS ON BAHA'IS, MB ARRESTS, AND THE CT LAW REF: A. CAIRO 157 ¶B. CAIRO 489 ¶C. CAIRO 495 Classified By: Minister-Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs William R. Stewart for Reasons 1.4(B). -------------- 2007 Human Rights Report For Egypt Delivered -------------- ¶1. (SBU) We met on March 12 with Wael Aboul Magd, Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for Human Rights Affairs, and delivered a copy of the 2007 Human Rights Report for Egypt. He had not yet seen the report. He told us he will review the report and get back to us with informal comments, which he said he hopes will provide us with additional context for subsequent reports. ¶2. (U) On March 14, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a statement in which it "rejected the wording" of the human rights report. According to the statement, Egypt opposes attempts by any state to "assume the higher moral ground...on human rights." The MFA also criticized the report for ignoring "the societal aspect, which factors into the human rights equation." The MFA also said the report was "far from being objective or scientific." -------------- Baha'i Case Update -------------- ¶3. (C) We asked Aboul Magd about implementation of the January 24 Administrative Court decision granting several members of Egypt's Baha'i minority the right to government identification documents (ref A). According to Aboul Magd, the decision has not been implemented because the appeal period has not yet expired. (Note: This is not consistent with what lawyers for the Baha'is have told us; they say the possibility of an appeal should not delay implementation.) Aboul Magd told us that the government has decided not to appeal the decision. He said the MFA lobbied hard for this decision and, as soon as the 60-day appeal window closes later this month, the Ministry of Interior will issue the identity documents. -------------- Muslim Brotherhood Arrests -------------- ¶4. (SBU) We raised the continuing campaign of MB arrests and told Aboul Magd that, especially in light of the upcoming local council elections, the arrests are a concern (refs B and C). Aboul Magd told us that the British and Germans had raised similar points the previous day. He said that he did not have all the facts, and he did not know if there was any relationship between the arrests and the local council elections, and criticized the media for making such a connection. He claimed it is difficult to count arrests, suggesting that some reported arrests could be "double counts" of MB members detained briefly, released, and then re-arrested. He did not commit to providing any additional response or information. -------------- CT Law/Emergency Decree -------------- ¶5. (C) Aboul Magd told us the proposed new counter-terrorism law is still with the inter-ministerial drafting committee, in which the MFA participates. He thinks the draft will go to the State Council "soon" and then to Parliament. He said that if the counter-terrorism law is not ready by the time the Emergency Decree expires (May 31),the decree could be extended for a "brief" period (he suggested 3 months to 1 year) to fill the gap. In his opinion, the counter-terrorism law will be a big improvement over the Emergency Decree because the law's definition of "terrorism" will limit its applicability. Terrorism cases will be handled by the existing criminal court system, with perhaps the addition of a special terrorism circuit. We asked how the new law might work in practice and whether those who were currently imprisoned under the Emergency Decree would be freed. Aboul Magd said he was not sure. RICCIARDONE