An American newspaper reported that lawmakers from the Democratic Party had sent a letter to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi demanding the release of detainees who said they were unfairly imprisoned, warning that he would not tolerate violations if Joe Biden won the presidency.
The "Washington Post" newspaper reported that lawmakers included in their letter - which will be sent today - details of detainees who said they were in prison for reasons they described as "unfair", expressing their concerns about the spread of the new Corona virus (Covid-19) in Egyptian prisons.
The lawmakers - 56 Democrats, including independent Senator Bernie Sanders - have warned that the Democrats will not tolerate human rights violations if Joe Biden wins the presidency.
The letter talked about more than 20 detainees - including activists, lawyers, political opponents and journalists - and said that they were unjustly imprisoned for exercising their basic rights, and the list included the political activist Rami Shaath, who was held in pretrial detention for more than a year, and the Coptic activist Rami Kamal.
Lawmakers said that a number of American citizens were imprisoned in Egypt, including the brother of Pennsylvania teacher Reem Muhammad al-Desouki, and demanded his release.
The Egyptian authorities had detained Reem El Desouki, and then returned to America after her release last May, but her brother was detained when he visited her while she was in custody.
Democratic member of the House of Representatives Ro Khanna said that the message was motivated by the security forces' campaign against activists and opposition and the arrest of more than 900 people following the recent anti-Sisi protests.