Egypt summons Western ambassadors over rights comments

FILE: (shutterstock photo)

CAIRO — Egypt has summoned the ambassadors of Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Britain in protest over a statement they made expressing concern over the fate of a detained human rights lawyer.

The move Sunday came after the countries issued a rare public statement Friday regarding the case of Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy, who focused on the issue of forced disappearances and was himself arrested in secret on Sept. 10 at Cairo Airport on his way to a U.N. meeting on the topic.

In its statement, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry called the statement “unacceptable,” saying it was an outright intervention in its internal affairs and judiciary.

Authorities later acknowledged Hegazy’s detention, and he remains in custody on charges of “spreading false news.” His son disappeared at an Islamist protest in 2013.