Amnesty International absolutely refutes a statement by Nabil Fahmy, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, alleging that the organization 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 on Tuesday 6 August 2013, Nabil Fahmy said that Amnesty International had issued a statement saying there were “heavy weapons inside Raba’ ”. Amnesty International has not issued such a statement.
Last Friday Amnesty International announced that the organization had gathered evidence indicating that a number of Morsi supporters had tortured individuals from a rival political camp since the outbreak of the political crisis in June. Some of these incidents occurred in areas near where pro-Morsi sit-ins were being held.
At no stage did Amnesty International refer to the use of “heavy weapons” inside the sit-in.
On Thursday 8 August 2013, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged that the Foreign Minister, Nabil Fahmy, had inadvertently referred to heavy weapons at the sit-in during the interview and has apologised to Amnesty International for any misunderstanding caused by this error.