Contact: Suzanne Trimel, strimel@aiusa.org, 212-633-4150, @strimel

(Washington D.C.) — Amnesty International USA’s advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa, Sanjeev Bery, issued the following comments today in response to the developing situation in Egypt:

“The move by Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to give itself unlimited power free of any oversight is a troubling development for human rights. The Egyptian military’s terrible track record on human rights gives no indication that Egyptian citizens will be guaranteed the freedoms they bravely rose up to wrest from Hosni Mubarak’s regime last year in Tahrir Square.”

“In light of the SCAF’s power grab and competing election claims, further civilian demonstrations may soon occur. The army must guarantee the rights of protestors to peacefully express their opinions and ensure human rights are not abused in the name of security. The army must end its tactics of repression and follow through on its rhetorical pledges that Egyptians will get a government that is fully accountable to them.”

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 3 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.