Al-Jazeera journalist Mahmoud Hussein has been held over one year now in an Egyptian prison. Hussein has worked for Al-Jazeera in Cairo since 2010. In December 2016, while on holiday in Cairo, he was arrested and accused of disseminating false news detrimental to the regime. There has been no trial.
Reports indicate there are approximately twenty journalists held in Egyptian prisons.
There are estimates that as many as 60,000 political prisoners are held in Egyptian prisons.
As a country, we have little choice but to support the Al-Sisi government of Egypt. They are our critical allies in the area. We have no way, other than stopping financial aid, to influence their internal behavior. The by-product of this relationship is our tacit support of the Egyptian government’s suppression of political disagreement.
