Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told French President Francois Hollande in November he was entirely for human rights but the timing was not suitable to discuss political detainees in Egypt, French newspaper l’Observateur reported.
President Sisi paid his first visit to France last November, where he discussed with President Hollande the Rafale fighter jets supply to Cairo as well as the situation in Libya.
But according to l’Observateur, the meeting also tackled the human rights situation in Cairo, with the French president bringing up the issue of thousands of Egyptians kept as political prisoners since the ouster of former Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Morsy.
“Mr. President,” the Egyptian Marshal retorted with a smile, “I'm for human rights, but not right now.”
Human Rights Organizations have slammed the security crackdown by Sisi’s government on the freedom of protest by government opponents, with thousands of supporters of Morsy and activists from other political stripes sentenced to jail over protest-related offenses.
