US rights report assails rights situation in Egypt

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Egypt, a US partner in the Arab world for decades, came under harsh American criticism Tuesday for its human rights record, with the State Department citing "serious abuses" in many areas, including torture of prisoners and detainees. There were poor conditions in prisons and detention centers, impunity, arbitrary arrest and detention, including prolonged pretrial detention, the department said in its annual report on human rights conditions worldwide. Other shortcomings in Egypt, it said, included executive branch limits on an independent judiciary, denial of fair public trial and lack of due process, and restrictions on civil liberties.