Human rights in Egypt

Most sources agree that Egypt is a gross violator of human rights. Authorities have effectively banned protests and freedom of expression, imprisoned its opponents, usually after unfair trials, outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, and expanded its anti-terrorism powers. Torture, forced disappearances, and deaths in custody are not rare occurrences. The government continues to persecute NGOs and journalists. Women and members of religious minorities are subject to discrimination. People are arrested for “debauchery” and sexual orientation.

Due to an insurgency in Northern Sinai, the army has enacted curfews and evicted communities from their homes along the border with Gaza in order to restrict the flow of arms. A new constitution was adopted in January 2014. The document, in principle, improved protections for women’s rights, freedom of expression, and other civil liberties. However, these rights have not been enforced in practice.

There is a critical lack of accountability, with most human rights violations being committed with impunity. In a December 2016 report, a panel of UN experts concluded that: “The continuous persecution of women human rights defenders such as Azza Soliman and Mozn Hassan... establishes and reinforces a pattern of systematic repression of the Egyptian women’s rights movement, aiming to silence and intimidate those working tirelessly for justice, human rights and equality”

Freedom House, the "independent watchdog organization that supports the expansion of freedom around the world," rated Egypt "not free" in 2011. It gave Egypt a "Political Rights Score" of 6 and "Civil Liberties Score" of 5 a scale of 1-7, with 1 representing the highest level of freedom and 7 representing the lowest level of freedom. (Freedom House’s office was among the offices of NGOs in Cairo raided by Egyptian security forces 29 December 2011 for "violation of Egyptian laws including not having permits." The raid was condemned by Freedom House as "an unprecedented assault on international civil society organizations and their local Egyptian partners.")

In 2000 the related Center for Religious Freedom placed Egypt as partly free at 5; this put them in line with Muslim nations like Turkey and Indonesia. Reporters Without Borders placed Egypt between Bhutan and the Côte d'Ivoire in press freedom.

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Wikipedia