Senator: EP's Statement is Blatant Violation of Egypt's Sovereignty

The statement of the European Parliament (EP) sparked a state of discontent among the Egyptian people, due to the false information it contains, as well as directly interfering in the Egyptian internal affairs, according to Senator Yasser Zaki.

Zaki denounced what was stated in the statement altogether; he stated that the statement is rejected in principle because it represents blatant interference in the Egyptian internal affairs, which is unacceptable, and it is odd that this statement was issued by countries that always promote respecting the will of states and not interfering in the affairs of others.

The Senator added that the statement --in its content -- questioned the integrity and independence of the Egyptian judicial system. It also aimed to undermine the institutions and stability of the Egyptian state.

It is not proportionate with the Egyptian-European strategic relations, especially within the framework of effort that Egypt is making in maintaining global security and stability, particularly in the fields of combating terrorism and illegal immigration.

Regarding the allegations contained in the statement, Zaki said that he drew his information from suspicious sources working against Egypt, and that it contained undocumented information, from inpidual sources adopting anti-society policies that all the defendants whom the statement referred to are accused of committing criminal offenses punishable by Egyptian law that is similar to other penal laws implemented across many other countries.

The defendants are also tried according to the legal procedures with which others are tried. The Egyptian state and the executive authority do not interfere in the work of the independent judicial authorities in the protection of the Egyptian constitution.

In terms of human rights, the statement intentionally ignored the efforts made by Egypt in the human rights file, as well as the clear Egyptian efforts to improve the lives of the Egyptian citizen.

The Egyptian civil society organizations are considered a watchdog and a protector of human rights in Egypt. Article 75 of the Egyptian constitution guarantees the establishment of civil society organizations on a democratic basis and provides them with legal identity once authorities are notified to operate without any restraints which is essential to prevent the establishment of entities of a secret nature; some of these organizations are used as a cover for committing crimes against the state especially the terrorist Brotherhood group that devotes its efforts to discrediting Egypt in front of the international community.

Unfortunately some countries take the claims of this group as a pretext to interfere in our internal affairs. However, the interests of the group converge with the interests of some countries in limiting Egypt's leading role in the region, according to Zaki.

He pointed out that the European Parliament follows a double-standard policy, ignoring criticism of Israeli human rights violations in the occupied territories. It also did not comment on the European countries’ vote against the draft General Assembly resolution of 2012 to grant Palestine the status of a non-member observer state in the United Nations.

The European Parliament also did not take a firm stand on the continuous violations of human rights committed by "Erdogan" with his continued repressive policies since the military coup in Turkey in July 2016.

Zaki asserted that common interests blind the European Parliament to many violations in Europe itself, such as the refugee agreement that the European Union reached with Turkey in March 2016, which is a violation of international human rights law and the International Refugee Convention of 1951.

All these European violations of human rights to stop the flow of immigrants, which confirms that economic interests take precedence over considerations related to human rights. It is noted from the timing that these allegations came in conjunction with Egypt's attempts to support stability in Libya, which is something that external powers try to obstruct as it conflicts with its economic interests in the region, especially Italy, which is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the instability in Libya.

"In general, the economic growth in Egypt, with its growing role in supporting the stability and unity of the region, is the main engine for the international powers that do not want stability that threatens their ambitions in our Arab region." he added.