Key facts
- US Senator Chris Murphy linked Egypt's crackdown on independent journalism to the Trump administration's waiver of human rights conditions on $320 million in military aid.
- The US State Department waived the aid conditions in September, citing Egypt's importance to US national security.
- Six journalists from the platform Matsda2sh were arrested and charged with belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood after the waiver.
- Egypt receives approximately $1.3 billion annually in US military assistance.
- Reporters Without Borders describes Egypt as one of the world's largest jailers of journalists.
Senator Chris Murphy has directly linked a recent crackdown on independent journalism in Egypt to the Trump administration's decision to waive human rights conditions on over $300 million in US military aid. Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated that the arrests of journalists began immediately after the funds were released.
The US State Department confirmed it waived conditions on $320 million of military assistance in September, citing Egypt's importance to US national security interests and its role in regional security challenges. This waiver followed a similar decision in 2024 by the Biden administration and occurred despite ongoing concerns about human rights abuses in Egypt under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Timothy E Kaldas, Deputy Director of The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, suggested that both the US and EU have prioritized strategic relationships with Egypt over human rights, potentially fostering a sense of impunity among Egyptian authorities.