CAIRO // President Abdel Fattah El Sisi acknowledged on Tuesday that Egypt’s police committed human rights abuses after the overthrow of his predecessor, but said they were expected given the “exceptional” security threats faced by the country.
A crackdown overseen by Mr El Sisi against supporters of Mohammed Morsi has left hundreds dead since the former president was toppled in July 2013.
Thousands of Morsi backers have also been imprisoned and dozens sentenced to death after hurried trials which the United Nations says are “unprecedented in recent history”.
Several youth activists who spearheaded the 2011 revolt against Morsi’s predecessor, Hosni Mubarak, are also serving jail terms for protesting illegally.
“Nobody is against human rights ... But today Egypt is in an exceptional condition,” said Mr El Sisi in an address to police officers and ministers ahead of the annual police day on January 25. “”
“Is it possible that there will be no violations? There will be violations. But do we approve them? No.”
On Egypt’s police day in 2011, millions launched protests against Mubarak, expressing their anger against the then reviled police force.
Since Morsi’s ouster by Mr El Sisi, Egypt’s former army chief, police have been back on the streets in full force amid accusations that the current government is even more authoritarian than that of Mubarak, who stepped down after an 18-day uprising.
Mr El Sisi has repeatedly said that ensuring stability in politically tumultuous Egypt is a top priority rather than promoting democratic freedoms.
“I am more concerned for human rights than any one else,” said the president, after awarding families of police officers killed in security operations.
“But come see millions of families ... the modest Egyptians who live in regions that need to be improved. What about their rights?”
Mr El Sisi defended an ongoing security operation in the Sinai Peninsula, where he said 208 militants have been killed by the security forces in more than a year.
The president said 955 people had been arrested in the region, which borders Israel, but more than half had been released.
“These figures show that ... we make sure that innocent people are not killed,” he said, adding that the situation in Sinai would take a while to resolve.
Extremists have stepped up attacks against security forces in the peninsula since the toppling of Morsi.
They say their attacks are in retaliation to the government crackdown against the former president’s supporters.
Officials say militants have killed scores of policemen and soldiers in Sinai and other parts of the country.
* Agence France-Presse
