Human rights and human rights organizations accused the American administration of being involved in the death of its citizen, Mustafa Qassem, by silence on the file of human rights violations, and failure to follow through on the repeated promises of release.

In this regard, three lawmakers in the United States interacted with what happened to the American citizen, holding the Egyptian president responsible for his death in Egyptian prisons, considering that the reason behind his continuing these crimes is the lack of a true deterrent that prevents him from doing so.

For his part, Republican Rep. Peter King said that it is "a terrible thing that happened to the American citizen Qasim at the hands of an ally of the United States", stressing that it is necessary to impose sanctions on the Egyptian officials involved in the matter.

"Seizing thousands in Egypt for years will lead to a wave of extremism, and this is something we cannot be silent about," said Senator Chris Murphy, Senator, adding that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah "Al-Sisi continues his crimes against detainees and human rights issues because he does not find anyone Deter him. "

In a related context, Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy said, "Sisi is personally responsible for the death of American citizen Mustafa Qassem in prison."

Interior statement
In this regard, the Egyptian Ministry of the Interior issued a statement describing it as important and urgent, in which it washed its hands of responsibility for the death of the Egyptian-American prisoner, Mustafa Qassem, who passed away last Monday following the deterioration of his health.

Egyptian authorities arrested Qassem for five years without being charged, before he was sentenced to 15 years in prison in a mass trial of 700 people, but he has started a hunger strike since he was sentenced in September 2018, when he was only drinking liquids.

The Interior Ministry statement described what some American circles circulated regarding the conditions of Qasim’s detention and his sham trial and the deterioration of his health as just allegations. The Egyptian Attorney General also issued a statement in which he indicated that he had ordered his medical file and asked the doctors supervising his condition upon his arrival at Cairo University Hospital, and a question Doctors treating him at Tora Prison Hospital.

The Egyptian authorities rarely comment on deaths in prisons, and remain silent about strike campaigns to protest torture and ill-treatment and intentional medical neglect, especially in the cold of winter.

It is noteworthy that Qassem’s death came two days after dozens of detainees in Scorpion Prison in Tora Prison Area, south of the Egyptian capital, were fainted as they continued an open hunger strike, in protest against the deaths of two political prisoners during one week due to the severe cold.