Egyptian-American Mustafa Kassem passed away after more than six years of unjust detention and negligent medical care in Egypt. In 2013, he was detained after showing his American passport to Egyptian army officials when they asked for identification, then held in pretrial detention for five years, and convicted in a mass trial with no individualized evidence against him. Mustafa leaves behind his wife and two children, all of whom are American citizens. (See the CNN, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post stories on his death.)
On Wednesday, January 15, 2020, six human rights and democracy organizations held an event on Capitol Hill to address the tragic circumstances surrounding Mustafa’s death, the other Americans currently jailed in Egypt, and the dire conditions in Egypt’s prisons.
“An American Tragedy: Mustafa Kassem’s Needless Death in Sisi’s Prison. https://t.co/2aNSVB8YQ6
Please join the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) for a conversation with:
Can Dündar
Co-editor-in-chief, #Özgürüz
Opening remarks by:
Howard Eissenstat
Professor, St. Lawrence University;
Nonresident Senior Fellow, POMED
Moderated by:
Elmira Bayrasli
CEO and Co-founder, Foreign Policy Interrupted;
Professor, Globalization and International Affairs Program, Bard College
Background
Under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey has become increasingly authoritarian at home and assertive abroad. Mass crackdowns, intensified since Turkey’s failed coup attempt in 2016, have resulted in more than 150,000 detentions. The media has been a main target: more than 150 media outlets have been shut down, and Turkey today is the top jailer of journalists globally. Amidst this backdrop, Erdoğan has announced his plans for a third military operation into northern Syria, threatening America’s Kurdish partners in the fight against the Islamic State. In a major policy shift on October 6, President Donald Trump endorsed Erdoğan’s planned incursion, and the two leaders are expected to meet at the White House next month.
To discuss all of these developments, POMED is pleased to host Can Dündar, the former editor-in-chief of Turkey’s main opposition newspaper, Cumhuriyet. A prominent target of Erdoğan’s media crackdown, Dündar is being prosecuted for exposing Turkey’s illicit weapons shipments to Syria and is currently being tried in absentia in at least two other cases. Since 2016, Dündar has lived in exile in Berlin, where he produces the online magazine #Özgürüz (We are Free). He is the recipient of POMED’s 2019 Leaders for Democracy Award and several other honors.
Friday, October 18
10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC
Space is limited. Please note that advance registration and confirmation are required. Please RSVP by October 17. Admittance is only available to confirmed registered guests.
THIS EVENT WILL BE HELD UNDER THE CHATHAM HOUSE RULE.
To mark the one-year anniversary of Jamal Khashoggi’s brutal murder, POMED and 12 other human rights and press freedom organizations held a public event on Capitol Hill to commemorate Jamal’s life, to call for accountability, and to cast a light on the Saudi government’s repression of those who are perceived to be critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his regime.
Monica Zuraw, Americans for Human Rights & Democracy in Bahrain Philippe Nassif, Amnesty International Justin Shilad, Committee to Protect Journalists
Margaux Ewen, James W. Foley Legacy Foundation
Andrea Prasow, Human Rights Watch
Karin Deutsch Karlekar, PEN America Stephen McInerney, Project on Middle East Democracy
Below are excerpts from some of the speakers at the event.
[5:15] Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD):
We’re not going to rest until the crown prince and others are held accountable for this murder, because failure to hold him accountable in the long run breeds this impunity, a sense that you can get away literally with murder. And that puts American residents at risk, American citizens at risk, and it puts journalists around the world at risk, and people who are living in these authoritarian countries who are fighting every day for their rights.
[9:48] Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA):
Jamal Khashoggi was a constituent, he was a Virginia resident. His children are not just residents, but citizens of the United States, and citizens of Virginia. He was a journalist. He’s not the only Virginian who has been treated harshly by the Saudi government. Aziz al-Yousef, the prominent women’s rights activist who was imprisoned because of her role in organizing campaigns for example for the radical notion that women should be able to drive or that women should not be subject to the guardianship rules that disable them from making the common everyday decisions of life. Aziz al-Yousef studied at the Virginia Commonwealth University. Her son is a U.S. citizen who is a Virginia resident. He’s also been imprisoned for his role in trying to help women’s rights activists.
[17:48] Representative Steve Chabot (R-OH):
I never had the pleasure to meet Jamal, but I know that he was an independent voice who tirelessly urged greater openness and reform no matter the cost, and, as we now know, it ultimately cost him his very life… I would ask that we all pause and not only remember Jamal but also remember all the other countless journalists across the globe who are still being persecuted for merely attempting to tell the truth.
[21:50] Agnès Callamard, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions:
The grave implication of the crimes extend in my view far beyond the authority of the courtroom alone, and other pathways must be pursued: political, economic, symbolic. Justice in the short term; justice in the long term. And justice of this order takes time. A single year’s effort is but the first phase in this journey… No country should be able to buy their way out of accountability, no matter their influence, strategic relevance, no matter the nature of their friendship.
[32:40] Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA):
It speaks horrible volumes about Saudi government that it would go to such incredible lengths to take out a moderate voice of change. It shows an insecurity that ought to give everybody pause about the stability of the Saudi government. It also says to us that our work must continue not only for justice for Jamal but for freedom of the press. Is every member of the press who dares to criticize another government, even if it’s their own government, at risk of their lives in such a brutal and grizzly fashion?
[41:12] Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ):
The murder of Jamal Khashoggi will be remembered as the straw that broke the camel’s back. The Saudis should have known that brazenly murdering an American resident and journalist would trigger a fundamental reexamination of the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia. The refusal of President Trump to hold those responsible for Khashoggi’s death accountable, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, has turned this crime into an assault on fundamental American values—like freedom of the press, democracy, and the rule of law.
[48:29] Representative Tom Malinowski (D-NJ):
This was not just an awful, horrific crime committed against one man, albeit a man who was known and cared for by many people in this room. This was an affront to the United States of America; it was an attack on freedom of expression; it was an assault on the idea that if a dissident finds safe exile in a third country that they should be, in fact, safe from extraterritorial killing.
[55:47] Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA):
Here’s the bottom line. Instead of justice for Jamal, this administration is helping the Saudi government get away with murder. They ought to be ashamed of themselves. They are complicit, based on their inaction. They don’t just have blood on their hands, they have blood up to their elbows. There comes a point when Congress must stand up and insist on consequences for such brutality, for operating so far outside the norms of international behavior. And it is not just Jamal, it is so many dissidents that are in Saudi prisons, who have no business being in Saudi prisons. We demand that they be released immediately.
[1:01:25] Lina Al-Hathloul, sister of detained human rights activist Loujain Al-Hathloul:
I mean, it was not a democracy before that, but there was more space in the public sphere for citizens to ask for reforms… Basically, it is really becoming a police state. What can you do about it? Talk about it every time Saudi Arabia is in the subject. Talk about these arrests. Ask questions, call for action. Most importantly, I beg you, never forget.
[1:06:10] Areej Al Sadhan, sister of detained Red Crescent employee Abdulrahman Al Sadhan:
I ask world leaders and human rights organizations to have a stronger stand against these violations. And as an American citizen, I kindly ask for your help and to demand the Saudis to allow us to have access to my brother. To check on him and to ask for his immediate and unconditional release, to join his family, as we all have suffered enough. Also, to hold those involved in exercising enforced disappearance and torture of my brother and others accountable for their inhumane actions.
[1:11:51] Col. Lawrence Wilkerson (Ret.):
We are latched to, we are allied with, one of the bloodiest tyrants on the face of the Earth. And the things that I had to do my planning for in the ’80s and ’90s—like oil, and buying U.S. dollars, and denominating oil sales in dollars, and buying U.S. treasuries and so forth—are no longer adequate rationalization for that alliance. They simply aren’t. Not when the kinds of things that are happening today are happening… We need, desperately even, to begin to distance ourselves from this kingdom, we need to distance ourselves from what it represents and what it does, particularly in this brutal war in Yemen, and we need to readjust our sights accordingly. And that’s from a military professional turned diplomat.
[1:19:35] Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR):
So, we’re going to try to finally get the Director of National Intelligence to tell us what they know, so we can hold this administration and the crown prince accountable… Normally Senators say that they’re for something, but when the administration stonewalls that’s pretty much the end of the discussion. Well, if they stonewall, they are in for a fight they will remember for the rest of their lives.
[1:25:55] Representative Dean Phillips (D-MN):
We cannot let a murder such as his go unaccounted for, we must hold Saudi Arabia responsible and accountable for the horrific action. We must refuse to support the Saudi government’s suppression of its critics, and we must use our relationship with Saudi Arabia to strengthen human rights and freedom of information. Most importantly, we cannot let a sacrifice such as Jamal’s go to waste. We must continue to work for what he stood for every single day, supporting free press all around the world, including in this country, fighting corruption and disinformation, and always seeking out and exposing the truth.
[1:28:00] Colin Raunig, veteran U.S. naval flight officer:
We must redouble our efforts to bring the assassins, and the leaders who sent them, and the countries that they represent to justice. America’s integrity must not be up for sale. The protection of America should not stop at our borders.
[1:35:38] Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT):
You have to do something to deserve to be an ally of the United States. And my take was that Saudi Arabia for a very long time had been doing far too many things that were contrary to both U.S. national security interests and our values sets that should cause us to reevaluate the nature of that friendship. What I didn’t know at the time was that the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was not limiting their campaign of repression to the territory inside their borders. That in fact they were chasing down dissenters and journalists all over the world to try to intimidate and bully them into adopting the royal family’s line. I was really saddened when I saw our Secretary of State travel to Riyadh to meet with the Crown Prince after the revelations regarding the murder came to light. The Saudis should be coming to us to apologize for kidnapping a journalist under U.S. protection rather than the world watching us travel there to present a smiling press conference in an attempt to paper over this gross violation of human rights.
[1:43:37] Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA):
Mr. Khashoggi was murdered because he spoke out against the catastrophic war in Yemen. He had the guts to call out Saudi barbarity in Yemen, which could be one of the largest famines in world history. And the way to honor him is to insist on stopping the war in Yemen.
Thank you for joining Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) for a panel discussion featuring:
Marti Flacks
Deputy Director & Head of North America Office,
Business and Human Rights Resource Centre
Andrea Prasow
Acting Washington Director,
Human Rights Watch
Kristian Ulrichsen
Fellow for the Middle East,
Baker Institute, Rice University
David Weinberg
Washington Director for International Affairs,
Anti-Defamation League
Moderated by:
Stephen McInerney
Executive Director,
Project on Middle East Democracy
Background
The tiny Gulf state of Qatar, the world’s largest supplier of liquefied natural gas, is the wealthiest country in the world per capita. A close strategic partner of the United States, Qatar is home to the largest U.S. military base in the region, Al Udeid Airbase, and among the world’s top purchasers of American weapons. Criticism of U.S. policy toward Qatar has largely focused on its foreign policy, with its internal politics and human rights record receiving far less scrutiny. This relative lack of attention is curious, given the well-documented human rights abuses in Qatar, especially toward migrant workers, and the autocratic nature of its political system, an absolute monarchy. Thank you for joining a special Human Rights Watch-POMED event that will examine these domestic issues in the context of Qatar’s regional role and why they matter to the United States.
Tuesday, September 10
2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Project on Middle East Democracy
1730 Rhode Island Avenue NW, Suite 617
Washington, DC 20036
The Project on Middle Democracy (POMED) is pleased to invite you to join us in a discussion with distinguished speakers from Algeria and Sudan under the title: “Algeria and Sudan: New Waves of Democratic Change or Dashed Dreams?”
In both Algeria and Sudan, citizens are simultaneously excited and fearful as protest leaders chart the way forward through negotiations with the army. In both countries people are afraid of the repetition of the Egyptian or Libyan scenario. The outcome of the current negotiations will determine whether Algeria and Sudan start their way towards democracy or join the other failures of the region. Through this panel discussion, we will seek to examine this second wave of calls for democratic reform in the Arab world and analyze the lessons learned from the first wave of 2011 revolutions.
Speakers
Ezzaddean Elsafi: Program Officer, Economic Advancement Program at the Open Society Foundations MENA Program, expert on development and peace building in Sudan
Belkacem Boukherouf – Algeria: University lecturer and researcher at the University of Tizi Ouzou and human rights activist
Sarra Majdoub – Tunisia: Political scientist and independent researcher working on Sudan
Mohamed Lamine Aissani – Algeria: Development consultant on Algeria, civil society empowerment expert and Former capacity building coordinator for Amnesty International Middle East & North Africa
Mohamed Erwa – Sudan (invited): Human Rights, Migration, Conflict & Development professional
Moderator
Amine Ghali: Director of Al Kawakibi Democracy Transition Center (KADEM) working on issues of democracy, reform and transition in the Arab region.
**Event languages: Arabic with simultaneous translation into French**
السودان والجزائر: موجات تحول ديموقراطي أم أحلام مجهضة؟
التاريخ: 19 جوان/يونيو 2019، الخامسة بعد الزوال
المكان: نزل الماجستيك، 36 شارع باريس، تونس العاصمة
تتشرّف منظمة مشروع الديمقراطية في الشرق الأوسط، بدعوتكم لحضور ندوة بعنوان ” السودان والجزائر: موجات تحول ديموقراطي أم أحلام مجهضة؟”، وذلك يوم الأربعاء 19 جوان – يونيو 2019 بنزل الماجستيك بتونس العاصمة ابتداء من الساعة الخامسة بعد الزوال
في كل من السودان والجزائر يرسم قادة الاحتجاجات خارطة الطريق من خلال لمفاوضات مع الجيش بينما يترقب المواطن نتيجة تلك المفاوضات في حماسة وخوف. هناك مخاوف واقعية من تكرار السيناريو المصري أو الليبي حيثُ أن نتيجة المفاوضات الحالية ستحدد ما إذا كانت الجزائر والسودان في طريقهما نحو الديمقراطية أو نحو الانضمام إلى الإخفاقات الأخرى بالمنطقة. نسعى من خلال هذا النقاش لتحليل هذه الموجة من دعوات الإصلاح الديمقراطي في العالم العربي واستفادتها من دروس الموجة الأولى من ثورات عام 2011
المتحدثون
عز الدين الصافي – مسؤول برامج، برنامج النهوض الاقتصادي في برنامج مؤسسة المجتمع المفتوح في الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا، خبير في التنمية وبناء السلام في السودان
بلقاسم بوخروف – الجزائر: محاضر جامعي وباحث في جامعة تيزي وزو وناشط في مجال حقوق الإنسان
سارة المجدوب: باحثة في العلوم السياسية ومتخصصة في الشأن السوداني
محمد لمين عيساني – الجزائر: مستشار تنمية وخبير في تمكين المجتمع المدني بالجزائر ومنسق سابق لبناء القدرات في منظمة العفو الدولية بمكتب الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا
محمد عروة – السودان: متخصص في مجالات حقوق الإنسان والهجرة والصراع والتنمية
يدير الحوار
أمين غالي: مدير مركز الكواكبي للتحولات الديمقراطية ويعمل على قضايا الديمقراطية والإصلاح والانتقال في المنطقة العربية
**مع ترجمة فورية من العربية إلى الفرنسية **
L’Algérie et le Soudan: nouvelles vagues de changements démocratiques ou rêves anéantis?
Le Project On Middle East Democracy (POMED) a le plaisir de vous inviter à participer à une discussion avec d’éminents intervenants algériens et soudanais sous le titre: «L’Algérie et le Soudan: nouvelles vagues de changements démocratiques ou rêves anéantis?». La discussion aura lieu le mercredi 19 juin 2019 à 17 heures à l’hôtel Majestic à Tunis.
En Algérie et au Soudan, tandis que les leaders des manifestations pavent le chemin des négociations avec l’armée, les citoyens sont partagés entre enthousiasme et crainte. Dans les deux pays, la peur de la réplique du scénario égyptien ou libyen est présente. L’issue des négociations en cours déterminera si l’Algérie et le Soudan s’engageront sur la voie démocratique ou rejoindront les autres échecs de la région. À travers ce débat, nous chercherons à examiner cette deuxième vague d’appels aux réformes démocratiques dans le monde arabe et à analyser les enseignements tirés de la première vague des révolutions de 2011.
Intervenants
Ezzaddean Elsafi: Chargé de programme, Programme de développement économique de Open Society Foundation, expert en développement et consolidation de la paix au Soudan
Belkacem Boukherouf – Algérie: maître de conférences, chercheur à l’université de Tizi Ouzou et activiste des droits de l’homme
Sarra Majdoub – Tunisie: Politologue et chercheuse indépendante travaillant sur le Soudan
Mohamed Erwa – Soudan: Professionnel des droits de l’homme, de la migration, des conflits et du développement
Mohamed Lamine Aissani – Algérie: ancien campaigner à Amnesty International pour l’Algérie et consultant sur l’autonomisation de la société civile
Modérateur
Amine Ghali: Directeur du Centre de transition pour la démocratie Al Kawakibi (KADEM) chargé des questions de démocratie, de réforme et de transition dans la région arabe
** Langues de l’événement: arabe avec traduction simultanée en français **
One year ago, just as the Saudi government finally ended the ban on women driving, many activists who had campaigned against the ban and for women’s rights more generally were arrested. Among those detained were writer-activists Nouf Abdulaziz, Loujain Al-Hathloul, and Eman Al-Nafjan, who have been subjected to imprisonment, solitary confinement, and torture by the Saudi Arabian regime. On May 21, in New York City, PEN America will bestow on these three women the 2019 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, given each year to writers imprisoned for their work. Friends and relatives will accept the award on their behalf, and then travel to Washington.
Please join PEN America and the Project on Middle East Democracy for a discussion of the Saudi government’s campaign to silence dissent and repress freedom of expression, including the detentions of Abdulaziz, Al-Hathloul, and Al-Nafjan.
Discussion 1: The detention of Loujain Al-Hathloul
WALID AL-HATHLOUL and LINA AL-HATHLOUL
Brother and sister of Saudi activist and social media commentator Loujain Al-Hathloul
Thank you for joining the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) for a panel discussion featuring:
Rochdi Alloui
Independent Analyst on North Africa, Georgia State University
Alexis Arieff
Specialist in African Affairs, Congressional Research Service
Amel Boubekeur
(speaking by video from Algiers)
Research Fellow, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
William Lawrence
Visiting Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, George Washington University
Moderator:
Stephen McInerney
Executive Director, POMED
Monday, April 15
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED)
1730 Rhode Island Avenue NW, Suite 617
Washington, DC 20036
Background
Since February, millions of Algerians have taken to the streets week after week for historic, peaceful mass protests against a fifth term for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and for democratic change. The popular pressure led to the postponement of the April 24 presidential elections and, on April 2, to Bouteflika’s resignation after 20 years in power. Abdelkader Bensalah, long a key ally of Bouteflika and since 2002 the Speaker of Algeria’s upper house of parliament, has been appointed interim president. This appointment is in line with Algeria’s constitution, but is contrary to protesters’ demand for a genuinely independent figure to oversee this transitional period. The next steps remain unclear and many Algerians worry that the regime will resist a democratic transition. Thank you for joining POMED to hear from a panel of Algeria experts who will analyze what led to the protests, what has happened so far, and what might happen next.
On April 9, 2019, just before President Trump’s White House meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, POMED joined with 11 other human rights and democracy organizations to host a public event on Capitol Hill about Egypt’s troubling trajectory. Speakers, including six members of the U.S. Congress, called attention to areas of deep concern in Egypt and the need for the United States to speak out and act on behalf of its values. Below are excerpts from some of the speakers at the event.
Tuesday, April 9, 2019 8:30 am – 10:30 am Russell Senate Office Building, Room 485 2 Constitution Ave NE, Washington, DC
Featuring
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO)
Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ)
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN)
Khaled Abol Naga, award-winning actor
April Corley (taped remarks)
Sponsored by
Amnesty International • Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies • Committee to Protect Journalists
The Council for Global Equality • The Egyptian Human Rights Forum • Freedom House
The Freedom Initiative • Human Rights Campaign • Human Rights First
Human Rights Watch • PEN America • Project on Middle East Democracy
With
Rob Berschinski, Human Rights First
Julie Dorf, Council for Global Equality
Moataz El Fegiery, Egyptian Human Rights Forum
Neil Hicks, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
Sherif Mansour, Committee to Protect Journalists
Sarah Margon, Human Rights Watch
Thomas O. Melia, PEN America
Stephen McInerney, Project on Middle East Democracy
– Remark Excerpts of Some Event Speakers –
Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD):
As President Trump rolls out the red carpet and welcomes President al-Sisi to the White House today, it’s important that those of us in Congress speak out about what is really happening in Egypt and what President al-Sisi is really up to. And I’m pleased that we were able to have that bipartisan letter signed by a good group of senators, because what we say in the letter is our effort to tell the truth as to what’s happening in Egypt: we know that al-Sisi has overseen terrible human rights abuses; he has tortured and killed hundreds and hundreds of Egyptians; and it’s reported that over 20,000 Egyptian citizens are currently in jail. There are also, among those who are in jail, 20 American citizens, and so when President al-Sisi comes to the White House I hope President Trump will ask him about those 20 jailed American citizens and also ask him about what he’s doing to his own people, who he is indiscriminately locking up.
We also have to speak out against the proposals—the constitutional amendments—that President al-Sisi is trying to push through in Egypt. He already has amassed a lot of power, but this is just another blatant power grab to deny the Egyptian people the opportunity for democracy for decades to come.
Representative Tom Malinowski (D-NJ):
Whatever may be said on other side of Pennsylvania Avenue today, I think it’s pretty clear that the President does not speak for the United States, he does not speak for the United States Congress, certainly, in terms of our perception of what is going on in Egypt. The vast majority of us care about the journalists and activists who are in prison in Egypt today; we care about those kids who are being tortured and radicalized in those prisons; we care about American citizens who are being brazenly detained by this regime for nothing more than their associations and political views; we care about April Corley, and we care about the despicable way in which the Government of Egypt has treated her and, by extension, the despicable way in which they treat the United States of America.
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT):
If Egypt continues in this direction, the future is predictable, and it’s ominous. Rather than becoming a modern, stable, and prosperous country—which it could—it will become increasingly divided and unstable. By imprisoning anyone who has the courage to call for more freedom of expression and political pluralism, President al-Sisi is creating a whole new generation of extremists. It’s long past time for the U.S. to use our influence with Egypt, including tying our military aid to reforms that protect the fundamental rights of the Egyptian people. Let them know what we stand for, even if they don’t stand for human rights, let them know that we do. If we don’t, then we stand complicit with a military dictatorship that contradicts the most basic ideals and principles that our country stands for.
Representative Jason Crow (D-CO):
The Arab spring showed us just how much Egyptians share our values of democracy, human rights, and equality. Yet President Sisi has continued to pursue policies that fly in the face of that: limiting the independence of the judiciary, restricting opposition political parties, and marginalizing women and minorities. It is time now to stand up for our country’s values and to call out Sisi’s anti-democratic power grab.
Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA):
Sadly the United States, when it comes to human rights, sends mixed signals. When it comes to our adversaries—say Venezuela or Iran—the [Trump] administration cannot say enough to criticize those countries. But when it comes to Egypt, and other countries the President wants to make nice with, Trump says nothing. We need a reset… Systematic human rights violations and the rise of strongmen should concern us always and everywhere. We need to return to the days when the United States led diplomatically in strong support of human rights and democracy without punishing citizens in the process.
The ongoing human rights abuses and the turn toward authoritarianism in Egypt should be top concerns for the United States’ foreign policy, both because repression on such a scale is morally wrong and because instability in Egypt is not in the U.S. interest.
Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN):
We know that religious minorities, especially the Coptic Christians, have been in more dangerous situations under Sisi than previous administrations. That’s why I am a proud co-sponsor of House Resolution 49 to insist on the protection for religious minorities in Egypt. We are here united to say no, no to Sisi’s power grab…no ally is above reproach. In a modern world, our relationship with Egypt needs to be put under greater scrutiny. We should not be enabling broad scale human rights violations. We should not continue to send $1.3 billion in aid to Egypt without questioning the suppression of speech, of human rights work, and of political dissent.
April Corley, U.S. national champion in roller skating and victim of attack by Egypt’s military:
My hope is that President Trump won’t sell the new Apaches until Egypt takes responsibility for what it did… I hope that what happened to me never happens to anyone ever again.
Khaled Abol Naga, award-winning Egyptian actor:
I have never been more proud of anything I have done than to be one of millions to march for bread, freedom, and social justice in 2011. I would have never thought in my worst nightmares that we end up today with a regime that makes sure Egyptians today would end up with no bread, no freedom, no social justice, and on top of that, not even dignity. Today, Egyptians are behind bars—most of those young Egyptians from Tahrir square, that we were all so proud of and that most of the world was so proud of, are behind bars in prisons or behind bars of fear. This is a regime that is trying to make us all be afraid.
The Egyptian parliament is in the process of finalizing amendments to the 2014 constitution that would allow President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to stay in office for twenty years, increase military control of politics, and end judicial independence. U.S. President Donald Trump has invited Sisi to Washington for a visit prior to a public referendum on the proposed amendments.
Please join the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Project on Middle East Democracy for a discussion of the ramifications of the amendments and Sisi’s visit for the future of Egypt, the U.S.-Egypt relationship, and for regional peace.
April 8, 2019
2:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
MOATAZ EL FEGIERY
Moataz El Fegiery is the general coordinator for the Egyptian Human Rights Forum.
MAI EL-SADANY
Mai El-Sadany is the legal and judicial director for the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy.
MICHELE DUNNE
Michele Dunne is the director and senior fellow of the Carnegie Middle East Program.
As Tunisia begins preparations for the 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections, the state of the democratic transition is mixed. Tunisia has made major gains in rights and freedoms since 2011. But amidst a poor economic picture, popular discontent, and political divisions and gridlock, the consolidation of liberal democracy is far from guaranteed.
To discuss the risks to Tunisia’s democracy, we were delighted to host a conversation with Youssef Cherif, head of Columbia Global Centers: Tunis; Omezzine Khélifa, Obama Foundation Scholar at Columbia University and founder and CEO of the Tunisian NGO Mobdiun – Creative Youth; and Carnegie Fellow Sarah Yerkes. POMED’s Deputy Director for Research Amy Hawthorne moderated the discussion.
Tuesday, March 12, 2019 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20036
Sarah Margon
Washington Director, Human Rights Watch
Stephen McInerney
Executive Director, Project on Middle East Democracy
Ambassador James B. Smith
U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, 2009–2013
Robin Wright
Contributing Writer, The New Yorker;
Distinguished Fellow, Woodrow Wilson Center
Background
In the wake of the alleged state-sponsored disappearance and killing of Saudi journalist and Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi, the latest in a series of troubling events from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, this event will provide an important dialogue around Mr. Khashoggi, the broader crackdown on dissent under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and U.S. policy recommendations to address these new challenges. Khashoggi’s case has powerful implications for the freedom of the press and human rights more broadly.
Thursday, October 18 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Hoover Institution in Washington
1399 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20005
Amy Austin Holmes
Fellow, Woodrow Wilson Center;
Visiting Scholar, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Michael Page
Deputy Director, Middle East and North Africa Division,
Human Rights Watch
Mohamed Soltan
Co-founder,
Freedom Initiative
Moderator:
Andrew Miller
Deputy Director for Policy, POMED;
Former White House and State Department Middle East Official
Background
August 14 marked the fifth anniversary of the massacre at Cairo’s Rabaa al-Adawiyya and al-Nahda Squares, in which Egyptian security forces, while President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was serving as minister of defense, killed over 800 demonstrators and injured several thousand more. As Human Rights Watch reported in its definitive account, “the indiscriminate and deliberate use of lethal force resulted in one of the world’s largest killings of demonstrators in a single day in recent history.”
POMED hosted an expert panel that discussed the massacre, the repressive and violent regime it foreshadowed, and Egypt’s future political trajectory. Panelist Mohamed Soltan was an eyewitness to the massacre, and Amy Austin Holmes visited Rabaa Square the night before and took photos, which she will show at the event. Michael Page will also offer his thoughts on the day and its enduring significance, drawing on Human Rights Watch’s extensive research into the massacre.
