WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism, on Tuesday released the following statement on human rights concerns in Egypt and urged the Biden administration to reprogram the remaining security assistance if Egypt fails to improve their human rights record by the deadline:

“It’s no secret I was disappointed last year when the administration decided to send a portion of U.S. security assistance to Egypt, despite Congressionally-mandated human rights conditions on that money. I made the case then that we had an opportunity to stand up strongly for democracy by holding back military aid —making it clear to present and future dictators that if you violate human rights, you will no longer receive a blank check from the United States of America. But the Biden administration still has an opportunity to correct course here. Egypt looks unlikely and unwilling to meet the narrow conditions on the remaining $130 million in military aid by the deadline, while the human rights situation more broadly has only deteriorated over the last few months. If Egypt doesn’t meet the conditions in full, the administration has to stand firm and show the world that our actions live up to our stated commitment to democracy and human rights,” said Murphy.  

Last year, Murphy released a statement on the Biden administration’s decision to send U.S. aid to Egypt despite human rights conditions that Congress placed on the security assistance. Murphy has been a vocal critic of Egypt’s treatment of political prisoners and held a Facebook Live discussion with human rights activist and former political prisoner in Egypt Mohamed Soltan. Murphy delivered remarks on the U.S. Senate floor calling on the Biden administration to withhold aid to Egypt based on human rights violations—specifically its treatment of political prisoners. In the past, the executive branch has routinely waived conditions that Congress placed on U.S. aid to Egypt.

###