Germany complains to Egypt about COP27 participants being monitored

Egyptian security officials are reported to have monitored and filmed events held at the German pavilion. The German embassy has called on the Egyptian authorities to cease this activity, reported dpa.

The German conference area has over recent days hosted events focusing on the human rights situation in Egypt, with sharp criticism being expressed.

Participants have included the heads of Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International, Tirana Hassan and Agnès Callamard, along with Egyptian activist Sanaa Saif, a film editor who has served prison terms in Egypt.

Egyptian visitors to the German area took photographs and videos and disrupted proceedings with lengthy interventions on at least two occasions. While tensions rose, there were no violent incidents.

Egyptian security sources told dpa that the security of foreign seminars and activities was a task for the UN services. Their role as Egyptians was restricted to security outside the halls and in the city, they said, reported dpa.

German delegation sources told dpa that they had drawn the attention of delegation members to potential security risks that could arise during the conference and that the German embassy had sent an advisory email to delegation members.

Neither HRW nor Amnesty have offices in Egypt. A block on the HRW website in place for years was lifted a few days ago.

During a visit at the start of the week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for the release of Alaa Abdel Fattah, an Egyptian-British activist who has served lengthy prison terms and is currently on hunger strike while in jail.