Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received of human rights workers being (a) summoned for questioning, (b) banned from travelling and (c) subject to attempts to freeze their personal funds and family assets by the Egyptian authorities.

Mr Philip Hammond

We are concerned about the decreasing space for civil society to operate in Egypt, including for Non Government Organisations (NGOs). Human rights defenders have been subject to measures including questioning, travel bans and judicial applications for asset freezing against individuals and their families. I refer you to the statement made by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Sate for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood) on 22 March. UK officials have raised our concerns with representatives from the Egyptian Government in both Cairo and London.