A US Republican delegation visiting Cairo on Sunday said President
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was the "right man at the right time" for Egypt
even as Washington criticizes alleged rights abuses in the country.
The
six-member delegation led by hawkish senator Lindsey Graham backed Sisi
in the fight against the militant ISIS group, but was cautious when
asked to respond to growing accusations of human rights violations
committed by Egyptian security forces.
Graham
said Sisi was "the right man at the right time" to lead Egypt as the
ISIS group had become a "nightmare" for the entire region.
"There
is a desire that Daesh be destroyed in Sinai... the president has
expressed his desire to destroy Daesh," Graham said using the Arabic
acronym for the ISIS, which is spearheading an insurgency in the restive
peninsula.
When asked about the human
rights situation in Egypt, Graham offered a response in stark contrast
to the present US administration, which has regularly criticized
reported human rights abuses in Egypt.
"I understand that the country is a new democracy and coming out of chaos," told reporters in Cairo.
"He
(Sisi) has to balance security with the rule of law... there are
elements that come to Egypt to disrupt the nation and there are many
people coming here to help you. Don't treat them all in the same way,"
the senator added.
Rights groups have
accused Egypt's security services of carrying out illegal detentions,
forced disappearances
of activists and torture of detainees since the
ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in July 2013.
After
his removal, a police crackdown targeting Mursi's supporters has left
hundreds dead and tens of thousands jailed. Hundreds more have been
sentenced to death including Mursi himself.
In
March, US Secretary of State John Kerry said there was a "deterioration
in the human rights situation in Egypt in recent weeks and months".
Read more: US Republicans back Egypt’s Sisi despite rights concerns - Al Arabiya English
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