Gift of US President Trump to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al - Sisi

The White House said on Friday, March 31, 2017, that human rights issues would not be allowed to be a general point of contention with Egypt, and would not confuse that with years of US policy that brought together the heads of both countries.

As President Trump prepares to host Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday, April 3, 2017, on Sisi's first visit to the White House since taking power in Cairo in a military coup in 2013, some officials said both presidents would focus on " Meeting on some security and economic issues.

Although these officials said human rights remain a concern, Trump prefers to deal with these issues and address them privately.

On Friday, the White House issued a statement praising the strong war launched by Sisi on terrorism and its efforts to boost Egypt's economy, with no mention of its crackdown on its opponents in Egypt.

The decision to marginalize human rights issues in Egypt comes days after the Trump administration announced to Congress that it would lift the human rights conditions imposed by President Barack Obama and resume arms sales to Bahrain, an important ally in the Middle East and host country of the US Fifth Fleet , According to a New York Times report.

Together, these moves reinforce Trump's message that security cooperation is the cornerstone of his approach to the region, without human rights becoming an obstacle, contrary to what President George W. Bush, who also emphasized the evolution of democracy, States to ease repression.

"Trump's blank check on his human rights concerns in Egypt is not surprising to us, but it means that Congress will have to intervene and continue to use its powers to reduce US support in view of the extent to which the United States is concerned," said Sarah Margon, director of Human Rights Watch's Washington office. The seriousness of the extent of oppression and abuse practiced under the rule of President Sisi. "

Tom Malinowski, Obama's assistant secretary of state for human rights, said US aid to Egypt had never translated into the expected support for US policy.

"Egypt has given us $ 70 billion over the years, and recently we have checked and found that there are no F-16 Egyptian planes to help us fight a da'ja in Raqqa or Mosul." All we get from Egyptians is the political repression that makes young people Extremists and gives terrorist groups a new life. "

Five senators announced they would present a resolution urging Egypt to ease opposition repression. Sen. Marco Rubio of the Republican Party in Florida urged Mr. Trump to "exert pressure to release political prisoners in Egypt, including imprisoned Americans, and encourage Egypt to give more space to civil society and freedom of expression for all."
He criticized the State Department's annual Human Rights Report, in which Foreign Secretary Rex W. Tillerson did not personally attend as his predecessors did, the Sisi government to suppress civil liberties and deprive of due process. The report noted the disappearance of dissidents, harsh prison conditions, torture, arbitrary arrests, killings, harassment of civil society groups, and curtailment of academic freedom, religious freedom and independent media.

Many of the tens of thousands of people imprisoned under Sisi, notably Ayat Hijazi, a humanitarian worker who was arrested in May 2014, testify to widespread accusations of trafficking and child abuse.