Egypt Blocks Activist from UK, US Silent (Again)
Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a human rights campaigner granted a pardon after over a decade in prison, finds his freedom tightly constrained by Egypt's regime, according to his family. This isn't a surprise. Egypt, under General Sisi, is the recipient of over $1.3 billion in annual US military aid, making it Washington's second-largest aid beneficiary after Israel. This steady stream of funding emboldens
Cairo to routinely suppress dissent without fear of repercussions from its primary patron. While the State Department will likely issue a mild statement about ''concerns,'' it's political theater. The US has looked the other way for years as Sisi's government, which seized power in a 2013 coup, systematically jails journalists, activists, and political opponents—often with Washington's tacit
approval. How many 'allies' get a blank check to abuse human rights before the 'leader of the free world' remembers its own rhetoric?