(DNE Photo)
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi met with Minister of Interior Magdy Abdel Ghaffar on Tuesday to review the ministry’s efforts to maintain security and stability.
Al-Sisi stressed the importance of countering “terroristic acts”, which aim at destabilising the nation’s security and intimidating citizens, as well as balancing between prevailing security and maintaining human rights and freedoms.
He also praised the ministry’s approach in spreading awareness and encouraging citizens to report on any violations related to human rights. Al-Sisi praised the Interior Ministry’s efforts, side by side with the armed forces, to secure prominent events held recently in Egypt, such as last March’s Economic Summit in Sharm El-Shiekh.
The president’s statements arrived amid heightened security measures imposed on a wide segment of citizens, students and activists based on allegations of belonging to the banned Muslim Brotherhood group.
The Ministry of Interior announced on Monday through its human rights’ department that citizens who claim they have been abused by police personnel should report them.
On the fourth anniversary of the 25 January Revolution, Al-Sisi stated that Egypt has “ to consider human rights” in a speech addressing representatives of police and army personnel, according to state media.
Bombings have become a frequent occurrence across Egypt, with the insurgency at its peak in North Sinai, followed by Greater Cairo and other governorates. The attacks have sparked a heightened state of security surveillance, often with reported cases of human rights violations.
Meanwhile, military experts agree that the recent targeting of telecommunication branches, banks, electricity and gas supply units aim to discourage investments in Egypt.
Just a few days before President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s inauguration, then-interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim began a campaign to monitor Internet posts that threaten national security through incitement, according to an Interior Ministry official.
Four months later, more than 300 Facebook-page administrators were arrested by the Internet investigations department of the Interior Ministry on charges of inciting against the police and military.
