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| Africa North | ||
| Pompeo angry over death of US citizen jailed in Egypt | ||
| 2020-01-20 | ||
Pompeo’s sharp remarks signal the US government intended to place the death of Mustafa Kassem, 54, following his protracted hunger strike last week,
Pompeo raises his concerns to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi about Kassem’s "pointless and tragic death" on the sidelines of an international peace summit in Berlin that aims to end Libya’s civil war. The death of the auto parts dealer from Long Island, New York, prompted an outcry from human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedomat the convenience of the state... groups, as well as accusations of medical negligence in Egypt’s prisons. The case also touched a nerve in Washington, which has cultivated close security and diplomatic ties with Egypt despite growing unease over its human rights violations under general-turned-president Sissi. Activists and foreign affairs experts have called for the Trump administration to penalize its staunch Middle Eastern ally by slashing millions of dollars in security assistance. The US grants $1.2 billion in annual military aid to Egypt. Kassem was detained by Egypt in 2013 in what his lawyers described as a vast dragnet during the violent dispersal of an Islamist sit-in that killed hundreds of people. He was later sentenced to 15 years under a contentious anti-protest law that the government often uses to silence dissent. He maintained his innocence throughout his detention and started a hunger strike last year in protest. | ||
| Posted by:trailing wife |