Abdel Fattah el-Sisi seized control of Egypt in the wake of an uprising against Mohamed Morsi’s autocratic regime. Since then, Sisi’s regime has imprisoned opponents and killed protesters
American taxpayers send more foreign aid to Egypt than to any other nation except Israel. But America’s nearly one and a half billion dollars a year is going to a regime accused of the worst abuses in Egypt’s modern history. Opponents of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi have been imprisoned by the thousands. El-Sisi has strangled freedom of speech. And his troops have murdered protestors. As you might imagine, President El-Sisi does not do a lot of interviews. And we were surprised when he sat down with us. El-Sisi was apparently surprised by our questions because his government has asked us not to broadcast his interview.
This is an American citizen. In 2015, he was sentenced to life in this Egyptian prison. His crime was transmitting false news, news which offended the man we met recently in New York: President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Scott Pelley: Do you have a good idea of how many political prisoners you’re holding?
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi: We don’t have political prisoners nor prisoners of opinion. We are trying to stand against extremists who impose their ideology on the people. Now they are subject to a fair trial. And it may take years, but we have to follow the law.
Scott Pelley: Mr. President, the organization Human Rights Watch says that there’re 60,000 political prisoners that you’re holding today as we sit here.
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi: I don’t know where they got that figure. I said there are no political prisoners in Egypt. Whenever there is a minority trying to impose their extremist ideology. We have to intervene regardless of their numbers.
CLICK HERE to read the full story.