Egypt president acknowledges rights abuses

(MENAFN- Arab News) CAIRO: President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi acknowledged Tuesday that police committed rights abuses after the overthrow of his predecessor but said they were expected given the 'exceptional' security threats faced by Egypt.'Nobody is against human rights... but today Egypt is in an exceptional condition... is it possible that there will be no violations' asked El-Sissi.'There will be violations. But do we approve them No' he said in an address to police officers and ministers ahead of the annual police day on Jan. 25.El-Sissi has repeatedly said that ensuring stability in politically tumultuous Egypt is a top priority rather than promoting democratic freedoms. 'I am more concerned for human rights than any one else' said El-Sissi after awarding families of police officers killed in security operations. 'But come see millions of families... the modest Egyptians who live in regions that need to be improved. What about their rights'El-Sissi defended an ongoing security operation on the unrest-roiled Sinai Peninsula where he said 208 militants have been killed by the security forces in more than a year.The president said 955 people had been arrested in the region which borders Israel but more than half had been released.'These figures show that...we make sure that innocent people are not killed' he said adding that the situation in Sinai would take a while to resolve.