Egypt Lawyers Up Against Human Rights

Egyptian courts froze the assets of five of the country’s most prominent human rights defenders, accusing them of receiving “foreign funding to destabilize the country.” The ruling is part of an ongoing campaign against critics of the regime. As a quick refresher: the regime initiated a crackdown against Muslim Brotherhood supporters when it swept them from power in a popularly backed coup in 2013. Since then, the crackdown has widened to include human rights activists like Hossam Bahgat and pro-democracy activists like Alaa Abdel Fattah, both of which were also critical of the Brotherhood’s regime. 

Meanwhile, French investigators looking into the downing of an EgyptAir flight over the Mediterranean believe they have found traces of TNT, indicating that a bomb was used. The exact cause of the drowning hasn’t been determined yet and no one has claimed responsibility, which might indicate that it was an accident since terrorists love taking credit for terror.