CAIRO — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo “expressed outrage” to Egypt’s president at the death of an American citizen who insisted he had been wrongfully held in Egyptian prison, according to a State Department spokeswoman.
Pompeo’s sharp remarks signal the US government intended to place the death of Mustafa Kassem, 54, following his protracted hunger strike last week, high on the diplomatic agenda.
Pompeo raises his concerns to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi about Kassem’s “pointless and tragic death” on the sidelines of an international peace summit in Berlin that aims to end Libya’s civil war.
The death of the auto parts dealer from Long Island, New York, prompted an outcry from human rights groups, as well as accusations of medical negligence in Egypt’s prisons.
The case also touched a nerve in Washington, which has cultivated close security and diplomatic ties with Egypt despite growing unease over its human rights violations under general-turned-president Sissi.
— AP
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo on January 10, 2019 (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / POOL / AFP)
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