EU lawmakers urge scrutiny of Egypt’s human rights record

CAIRO (AP) — European parliamentarians have urged their governments and the United Nations to bring Egypt’s “devastating” human rights situation under more global scrutiny. The lawmakers issued a statement on Thursday calling on the U.N. Human Rights Council to establish a monitoring and reporting mechanism on Egypt. The call comes ahead of the council’s first and highest-level meeting for the year, set for Feb 28. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has overseen a rollback of many freedoms since rising to power in 2013. The country is ranked among the world’s worst jailers of journalists, along with Turkey and China. That’s according to the nonprofit Committee to Protect Journalists.