German MP slams EU’s silence on rights abuses in Egypt

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN (AA) - The European Union should end its silence over anti-democratic practices and human rights violations in Egypt, a senior German opposition lawmaker said.

Omid Nouripour, foreign policy spokesman of the opposition Green Party, sharply criticized the EU-Arab League summit hosted by Egypt.

“The recent constitutional amendments [in Egypt] would significantly expand the powers of President al-Sisi and badly undermine democracy,” he told Germany’s daily Neue Osnabrucker Zeitung.

“Today, civil and human rights situation in Egypt is worse than President Mubarak’s period before the Arab Spring. 60,000 people have become political prisoners,” he went on to say.

“But the EU remains silent, because Egypt serves as a gatekeeper, keeping African refugees away from Europe,” he added.

Nouripour suggested cutting EU aid to anti-democratic regimes, and making financial assistance conditional on improvements in democracy and human rights.