The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the freedom of expression and assembly in Egypt.
The resolution was tabled by the EPP, S&D, ECR, ALDE, GUE/NGL, and Greens/EFA groups.
The European Parliament condemned strongly all acts of violence, incitement, hate speech, harassment, intimidation or censorship against political opponents, protesters, journalists, bloggers, trade unionists, womens rights activists, civil society actors and minorities and called on the Egyptian authorities to commit to dialogue and non-violence as well as to inclusive governance.
Deeply concerned over a series of recent court decisions in Egypt, including the lengthy jail terms handed down on 23 June 2014 to three Al Jazeera journalists as well as the confirmation of death sentences against 183 people, Parliament condemned the harassment, detention and prosecution of national and international journalists and civil society actors. Overall, it regretted the existence of media and web censorship and the fact that access to some blogs and social networks is limited.
Parliament called on the Egyptian authorities to:
Members stressed that Egypts anti-terrorism law has also been used to bring convictions in a number of trials. They called on the authorities to immediately establish an official moratorium on executions as a first step towards abolition.
LGBT people: Members regretted the fact that, despite a new law on sexual harassment, violence against women has been worsening, especially in the public sphere, with dozens of cases of rape and sexual violence occurring during protests. They urged the Egyptian authorities to cease criminalising LGBT people for expressing their sexual orientation and right of assembly, on the basis of the debauchery law and to release all LGBT people arrested and imprisoned under that law.
Improving rights and freedoms: Parliament reaffirmed that freedom of the press and media are vital elements for democracy and an open society, and that as such they should be among the focal points of EU action concerning Egypt. Once again, it urged the Council, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) and the Commission to work actively on the basis of the principle of conditionality (more for more), and taking account of the serious economic challenges faced by Egypt, in the Unions bilateral relations with and financial support for the country.
Moreover, Parliament called on the VP/HR to: