The Biden administration will withhold $130 million in security aid from Egypt for the second consecutive year over its human rights record but will release a separate tranche of $75 million due to Cairo’s steps to free political prisoners.
The split determination on military aid to Egypt, which has been seen as a signal U.S. decision on human rights, illustrates the Biden administration’s attempt to apply continued pressure on the government of President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi over its dismal rights record while rewarding incremental steps by a crucial Middle Eastern ally.
in military financing if Egypt did not make improvements on specific conditions in 120 days, a goal that officials later determined Cairo had not met. This time, the administration decided to immediately redirect the $130 million without giving Egypt extra time to comply. On Tuesday, a group of lawmakers led by Rep. Gregory W. Meeks , chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urged that aid be withheld and decriedthe “ongoing, pervasive, and systemic violations of human rights in Egypt that risk destabilizing the country.”
Amy Hawthorne, deputy director for research at the Project on Middle East Democracy, said the conditions cited on the tranche of $75 million included progress on political prisoners and on due process.
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