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☆ Sister of jailed hunger striker says she has appealed to Egypt president
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 12 (Reuters) - A sister of jailed hunger striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah said she has appealed directly to Egypt's president for an amnesty for her brother, whose protest has overshadowed a global climate summit in Egypt this week. Sisi met U.S. President Joe Biden at the COP27 climate summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Friday. Without naming Abd el-Fattah, the White House said Biden raised human rights during their talks. Sisi said he told Biden that Egypt has launched a national strategy for human rights and a national dialogue. Abd el-Fattah, a prominent blogger and activist who has been in detention for much of the last decade, has been on hunger strike since April 2.

☆ Curbs on rights weaken Egypt's climate talks, campaigners say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Dominic Evans | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/2] People walk outside of the Sharm El Sheikh International Convention Centre during the COP27 climate summit opening in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt November 6, 2022. Climate action "requires more people on the street, more voices, more independent research, more independent reporting, more accountability when climate obligations are not met," said Tirana Hassan, Human Rights Watch's acting Executive Director. "That's not going to happen under governments such as the Egyptian government which is excluding civil society, independent journalism and academia," she told a meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh this week. Despite those criticisms some delegates argued that there was a benefit to holding the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh to shine a light briefly on Egypt's record. "This is a huge opportunity," Egyptian journalist and human rights advocate Hossam Bahgat said.

☆ U.S. doing all it can for release of hunger striker in Egypt, security adviser says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 12 (Reuters) - The United States is doing "everything it can" to secure the release of Egytian-British activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah from jail in Egypt and President Joe Biden raised the case with his Egyptian counterpart, the U.S. national security adviser said on Saturday. "We are doing everything we can to secure his release, as well as the release of a number of other political prisoners," Sullivan told reporters on Air Force One after leaving Egypt. Sisi said he told Biden that Egypt has launched a national strategy for human rights and a national dialogue. Rights groups say tens of thousands of people have been arrested since then including Islamists, leftists and liberals. Reporting by Dominic Evans and Nandita Bose; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 11 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden told the COP27 climate conference in Egypt on Friday that global warming posed an existential threat to the planet and promised the United States would meet its targets for fighting it. "The climate crisis is about human security, economic security, environmental security, national security, and the very life of the planet," Biden told a crowded room of delegates at the U.N. summit in the seaside resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh. Biden said global crises, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, were not an excuse to lower climate ambition. U.S. President Joe Biden delivers a speech at COP27 climate summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 11, 2022. "It's radio silence on loss and damage finance," Singh said, calling Biden "out of touch with the reality of the climate crisis."

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 11 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden addressed the COP27 climate conference in Egypt on Friday, saying the global climate crisis posed an existential threat to the planet and promising that the United States was doing its part to combat it. "The climate crisis is about human security, economic security, environmental security, national security, and the very life of the planet," Biden said, before outlining steps the United States, the world’s second-biggest greenhouse gas emitter, was taking. It came even as a slew of crises - from a land war in Europe to rampant inflation - distract international focus. "Against this backdrop, it's more urgent than ever that we double down on our climate commitments. Upon arrival, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told U.S. President Joe Biden that Egypt has launched a national strategy for human rights and is keen to develop in that regard.

☆ Jailed Egyptian hunger striker is hospitalized, family says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Egyptian prison authorities have intervened medically with jailed pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah, who this week escalated a food and hunger strike demanding his release, coinciding with Egypt’s hosting of the U.N. climate summit, his mother said. Abdel-Fattah’s mother, Leila Soueif, said she spoke to prison authorities by phone and asked them if her son was undergoing any medical procedure and they said he was. She asked “if it was by force, and they said no” and told her, “Alaa is good,” she told The Associated Press. Soueif has been waiting outside the prison every day this week, asking for proof of life for her son. World leaders and activists have repeatedly called for Egyptian authorities to release the activist.

He'll hold his first face-to-face meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G20, where he hopes to explore Xi's "red lines", talk to allies about punishing Russia for its Ukraine invasion and discuss containing North Korea after a barrage of missile tests. On Wednesday, Biden said U.S. aid for Ukraine will continue uninterrupted and any territorial compromise between the two countries is up to Ukraine. Putin will not attend the G20 summit in person but is due join one of the meetings virtually, an Indonesian government official said. They will address North Korea's "unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs," the official said. Biden will "continue to urge the Egyptian government to release political prisoners and undertake human rights related legal reforms," said one of the officials.

Abd El-Fattah was found guilty of spreading false information for sharing a Facebook post, a charge frequently used against activists and those of suspected of dissent. Abd El-Fattah has been on a hunger strike for more than 200 days and on Sunday stopped drinking water. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday said that he had raised the case of Abd El-Fattah while attending COP27. In January, Egyptian-Palestinian activist Ramy Shaath was freed following more than 900 days in detention after he renounced his Egyptian nationality. The only explanation his supporters have, Bahgat said, is that Abd El-Fattah was “one of the most prominent and influential voices” of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

☆ Egyptian authorities intervene in prisoner's hunger strike, family says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Abd el-Fattah's sister Mona Seif said Ali was negotiating access at the prison. Abd el-Fattah's hunger strike has loomed over the U.N. talks, with another sister, Sanaa Seif, flying in to campaign for his release, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak raising the issue with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Without water, Abd el-Fattah's health could rapidly deteriorate and the United Nation's rights agency has expressed concern for his life. They said previously that Abd el-Fattah was being given meals. He is on hunger strike against his detention and prison conditions.

☆ UN experts at COP27: Corporate climate pledges rife with greenwashing
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and others attend the COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt November 7, 2022. At last year's climate negotiations in Glasgow, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed 17 experts to review the integrity of non-state net zero commitments amid concerns about "a surplus of confusion and deficit of credibility" involving corporate green boasting. "Bogus net zero claims drive up the cost that ultimately everyone will pay," she said. An estimated 80% of global emissions are now covered by pledges that commit to reaching net zero emissions. For example, a company cannot claim to be net zero if it continues to build or invest in new fossil fuel infrastructure or deforestation.

[1/5] A demonstrator holds placards as he demands the release of Egyptian-British hunger striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah near the British Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon November 7, 2022. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called for the immediate release of Abd el-Fattah who he said was "in great danger." Egyptian officials have not responded to Reuters requests for comment on Abd el-Fattah. Abd el-Fattah rose to prominence during Egypt's 2011 popular uprising which led to Egypt's first democratic presidential election. Abd el-Fattah, a software developer from an activist family, was detained in the subsequent crackdown on Islamists, leftists and liberals alike, and has been behind bars for most of the time since then.

☆ 'After COP, I don't know if I'll be alive or not': Sister of the jailed Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah calls for his release
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Egyptian-British activist Sanaa Seif is calling for her brother's release from an Egyptian jail. The Egyptian government has denied mistreatment, and this summer a member of the presidential-pardon committee said Abd el-Fattah was among those being considered for possible release, reported Al-Ahram, an Egyptian state-owned newspaper. He added that foreign intervention in human-rights reform in Egypt "is fated to fail" and would harm the country's people. Seif said her family has exhausted every legal route in Egypt to secure her brother's release, to no avail. "After COP, I don't know if I'll be alive or not," she said.

☆ Egypt Keeps Tight Grip on Protests as Host of COP27 Climate Conference
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Chao Deng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Demonstrators have to navigate through a complex registration system to gain access to a limited “Green Zone” protest space outside the main COP27 conference area in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt—Egyptian authorities have detained more than a hundred people in connection with demonstrations planned for the COP27 climate summit with rights groups saying the government appears increasingly concerned that protests could spill over into a broader display of dissent against President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi . Human Rights Watch, a New York-based nonprofit, on Sunday said that camera-surveillance networks had been set up in taxis in Sharm El Sheikh to monitor who is traveling around the town. It also pointed to a complex registration system to gain access to a limited “Green Zone” protest space outside the main conference as a further indication that Egyptian authorities are trying to limit free speech around the summit.

☆ Egypt human rights record under fire as it hosts COP27 climate conference
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Hyder Abbasi | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

When world leaders, diplomats, campaigners and scientists from nearly 200 countries arrive for the United Nations climate change conference in Egypt Monday, their focus will be on curbing global warming. They have called for the world leaders attending the event, known as COP27, to confront the Egyptian government over its alleged human-rights abuses, particularly its treatment of political prisoners. In 2019, he was jailed for “joining a terrorist group” and “spreading false news” to undermine national security. It said that Fattah, 40, a British national, was being prosecuted because of his activism and social media posts highlighting human rights violations allegedly committed by the Egyptian government. Amnesty’s head, Agnes Callamard, warned Sunday that Egypt had no more than 72 hours to save the jailed dissident's life.

☆ Hunger striker's sister flies in to Egypt COP27 to campaign for his release
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Sanaa Seif, sister of jailed Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, speaks to Reuters upon her arrival to press for his release during COP27, at the Red Sea resort in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, November 7, 2022. Sunak has said he will raise Abd el-Fattah's case with Egypt's leadership. Abd el-Fattah had informed his family that he would stop drinking water on Sunday in an escalation of his protest. Abd el-Fattah rose to prominence with Egypt's 2011 uprising but has been detained for most of the period since. Abd el-Fattah's family said he was only consuming minimal calories and some fibre to sustain himself earlier in the year.

☆ Jailed British-Egyptian activist escalates hunger strike by refusing water as COP27 gets underway
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — Jailed British-Egyptian citizen Alaa Abdel-Fattah stepped up his hunger strike by refusing water, ratcheting up fears for the life of one of the country's leading rights activists just as world leaders arrive in Egypt for the start of the COP27 climate summit. Amnesty International chief Agnes Callamard said Sunday that authorities had less than three days to save Abdel-Fattah's life, warning that failure to intervene would overshadow the U.N.'s flagship climate conference. The 40-year-old has stopped drinking water in a desperate attempt to pressure Egyptian authorities to allow him U.K. consular access. The escalation of Abdel-Fattah's hunger strike has prompted grave concerns for the prominent human rights activist and writer, who had consumed just 100 calories a day for more than 200 days. Egypt is hosting the COP27 climate summit in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh through to Nov. 18.

"Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish,” Guterres told delegates gathered in the seaside resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh. And our planet is fast approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible,” he said. Signatories to the 2015 Paris climate agreement pledged to achieve a long-term goal of keeping global temperatures from rising by more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Guterres said that goal will only stay alive if the world can achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The World Trade Organization, meanwhile, said in a report published on Monday that it should tackle trade barriers for low carbon industries to address the role of global trade in driving climate change.

☆ Analysis: Egypt eyes diplomatic payoff from hosting COP27 climate summit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Aidan Lewis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The United Nations climate talks in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh starting on Sunday will put the global media spotlight on Egypt in a way the country last saw during its 2011 "Arab Spring" uprising. Authorities want to show "that Egypt is not an irrelevant country, that Egypt has the prowess, the diplomatic clout and the power, the security presence to be a pivotal figure", she said. In other moves aimed at improving Egypt's international image, Sisi has launched a limited political dialogue that is due to start soon after the climate summit. In an updated submission to the United Nations this year, Egypt said it faced a $246 billion funding shortfall to meet its 2030 climate targets. It is hoping to sign a flurry of deals including for green hydrogen power and solar and wind projects timed to coincide with COP27.

☆ British PM to raise hunger striker Abd el-Fattah's case during COP27
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CAIRO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he will raise the case of Egyptian-British hunger striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah with Egypt's leadership during the COP27 climate summit that opened on Sunday, the same day Abd el-Fattah said he would stop drinking water. Egyptian officials have not responded to Reuters' phone calls for comment on Abd el-Fattah's case, but have said previously that he was receiving meals and was moved to a prison with better conditions earlier this year. Abd el-Fattah's family said he was only consuming minimal calories and some fibre to sustain himself earlier in the year. Abd el-Fattah's family said he had told them he would stop consuming honey, tea and milk on Nov. 1 and planned to cease drinking water from Sunday. Egyptian authorities had to act within three days to save Abd el-Fattah, the head of Amnesty International, Agnes Callamard, told a press conference in Cairo.

☆ Egypt faces criticism over crackdown on activists ahead of COP27 climate summit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Egypt is facing a barrage of criticism over what rights groups say is a crackdown on protests and activists, as it prepares to host the COP27 climate summit starting Sunday. According to rights groups, security forces have been setting up checkpoints on Cairo streets, stopping people and searching their phones to find any content related to the planned protests. The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF), an NGO, said Wednesday that 93 people had been arrested in Egypt in recent days. Then there is a separate public venue where climate exhibitions and events take place throughout the two weeks of the summit. But rights groups said the government’s initiatives amounted to little change.

SAO PAULO, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will participate in this month's COP27 United Nations climate summit in Egypt, the head of his political party said on Tuesday. He defeated President Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing nationalist who has overseen rising deforestation and appointed climate change skeptics as ministers. Gleisi Hoffman, the head of Lula's Workers Party, on Tuesday confirmed he would attend COP27. Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also invited Lula to attend the summit in a message congratulating him on his election victory. "I have absolute certainty that...various national representatives will request to meet with President Lula," Teixeira said, adding that she was being directly consulted on the matter.

☆ Egyptian security arrests dozens ahead of COP27 climate summit- rights group
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

CAIRO, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces have arrested nearly 70 people in connection with calls for protests to coincide with the COP27 climate summit, a rights group said. The arrests come after some social media users, including an exiled former construction contractor and actor, Mohamed Ali, made renewed calls for anti-government protests in Egypt on Nov. 11. The COP27 United Nations climate talks will be held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh from Nov 6 to 18. Sisi, who was elected president in 2014, says security measures were needed to stabilise Egypt. Abd al-Fattah will stop consuming honey, tea and milk from Tuesday and plans to stop drinking water from Nov. 6, when COP27 opens, his family says.

☆ Sen. Patrick Leahy Blocks $75 Million in Funding to Egypt, Citing Human Rights
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Chao Deng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Human rights groups say Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi oversees one of the world’s worst crackdowns on human rights. CAIRO—A U.S. senator blocked $75 million in military funding this year to Egypt, citing insufficient progress on the country’s treatment of political prisoners, despite recent prisoner releases by President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi . Sen. Patrick Leahy (D., Vt.), chairman of the Senate appropriations committee, informed the State Department that he would put the money it approved on hold ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline for the release of the funds.

☆ Senator blocks $75 million in U.S. military aid to Egypt over rights concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Humeyra Pamuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Egypt has missed out on an additional $75 million in American military aid after a senior Democratic U.S. senator blocked the funding over concerns about Cairo’s human rights record including holding political prisoners. We all have a responsibility to uphold the law and to defend the due process rights of the accused, whether here or in Egypt,” Leahy said. The United States allocates around $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt annually. Talks between his office and the State Department failed to resolve the issue, and the $75 million in funding expired on Sept. 30. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ Youth activist Jerome Foster is skipping the UN's climate conference in Egypt because of the country's record on LGBTQ rights
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jerome Foster is protesting the UN climate conference in Egypt, citing LGBTQ abusesThe young climate activist also advises the White House on environmental justice issues. Foster spoke to Insider as part of its Climate Heroes 2022 event. Foster spoke as part of an Insider event moderated by Catherine Boudreau, senior sustainability reporter. The event was part of Insider's series Climate Heroes 2022: Working Toward Solutions, which highlighted various leaders' efforts to address the climate crisis. "We shouldn't be scared to go to a climate conference, where we're trying to fight for the right for our planet, but putting our lives at risk just because we love someone," Foster said.

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