Sunday, 17 January 2010

Near East: Egyptian Arrests
Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:06:27 -0600

Egyptian Arrests



Mark C. Toner
Acting Spokesman
Washington, DC
January 16, 2010


The United States is deeply concerned by today’s arrests of individuals traveling to the Egyptian town of Naga Hammadi to express support for those tragically killed and injured during Coptic Christmas celebrations on January 7. According to publicly available evidence, those arrested included bloggers, democracy and religious freedom advocates.

We call on the Government of Egypt to uphold the rights of all to peacefully express their political views and desires for universal freedoms and to ensure due process for those detained.



PRN: 2010/062