US, Egypt Mull Human Rights Dialogue Amid Scrutiny of Egypt's Record of Repression

WASHINGTON - The United States says it plans to engage in a "constructive" human rights dialogue with Egypt as rights groups and activists draw attention to the record of Egypt's human rights abuses. 

Sixty-three human rights groups and international organizations called on Egypt Tuesday to release political detainees and stop the suppression of independent organizations and those who dissent peacefully. “President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt should immediately end a crackdown on freedom of association, independent groups, and peaceful dissent,” said Human Rights Watch and other groups in a statement. The latest call follows a recent report by Washington-based rights group The Freedom Initiative which found that “Egypt’s widespread and systematic campaign of arrest, imprisonment, and abuse reaches Americans on their soil.”