Egyptians for Democracy – UK has described the EU’s stance on Egypt’s presidential elections as particularly objectionable given that Field Marshall Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi has committed what Human Rights Watch described as the ‘worst human rights atrocity in modern Egyptian history’. The group deplored the EU’s decision to congratulate Al-Sisi one year after his regime carried out the massacre of peaceful protestors in Cairo.

The statement added that Egyptians for Democracy-UK were extremely disappointed that the EU had not vetted the veracity of the government’s claim of a 46% turnout.

Dr Maha Azzam, chair of Egyptians for Democracy-UK and a founding member of the Brussels Initiative said “It is particularly disappointing that the EU is endorsing a political leader who came to power on the back of a mass night rally, negating the democratic process by offering the prospect of a ‘strong leader’, murdering thousands of peaceful protestors and imprisoning tens of thousands of political dissidents.”

“I would like to point out to the EU that it is poignant that their statement of support for this xenophobic military regime came out one day before we commemorated the 70th anniversary of D Day. I would have hoped that the lessons of history were not so quickly forgotten by Europe’s democracies”, she added.