The Egyptian Foreign Ministry denounced the statements by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued in the wake of the cathedral blast, which occurred on Sunday in Cairo.
Spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said that the two organizations took advantage of the incident to support their biased and politically motivated discourse about the sectarian tensions in Egypt; this at a time when the incident drew sympathy and solidarity with Egypt in its war on terrorism.
They pointed to a security failure to protect Egyptian Copts, as well as a reluctance within the judicial authority, which are untrue, according to the spokesperson.
In a statement on Tuesday, Abu Zeid said that although the two organizations were intolerant of the claimed violations against human rights, they showed unaccepted tolerance toward terrorism.
He added that it was shameful and disappointing that they did not describe the incident as terrorist, in addition to not showing sympathy with victims and their families.
Both, according to the spokesperson, intended to lower their gaze from the rapid reaction shown by the Egyptian leadership, government and parliament toward the terrorist act. They also disregarded the progress achieved in investigations.
The selective approach in handling the incident seeks narrow interests and shows unrealistic analysis only to slam the Egyptian government, he added.
A bombing at Cairo's largest Coptic cathedral killed at least 25 people and wounded 49, many of them women and children attending Sunday mass, in the deadliest attack on Egypt's Christian minority in years.
