Egyptian foreign minister misquotes Amnesty over Morsi supporters' weapons

Amnesty International has categorically rejected a claim made by Nabil Fahmy, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, that Amnesty has said it has evidence that “heavy weapons” are present inside a sit-in by supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi near Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque in Cairo.

During an interview on BBC HARDTalk broadcast yesterday (www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01dhx80), Nabil Fahmy said that Amnesty had issued a statement saying there were “heavy weapons inside Raba”.

Amnesty has not issued such a statement.

Last Friday Amnesty said that it had gathered evidence indicating that since the outbreak of the political crisis in June a number of Morsi supporters had tortured individuals from a rival political camp. Some of these incidents occurred in areas near where pro-Morsi sit-ins were being held.  

At no stage did Amnesty refer to the use of “heavy weapons” inside the sit-in.