A Jordanian prince said Egypt's crackdown 'facilitates radicalization'

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein of Jordan said that recent security measures implemented by Egypt's government foster the radicalization they aim to curb, Reuters reported.

The Monday statement came during a press conference in Geneva where Prince Zeid criticized the country's approach to combating Islamist militants, saying that it was exasperating the problem.

The comments come a few weeks after President Abdel fatah al-Sisi declared a nationwide state of emergency in the aftermath of horrific twin terrorist attacks on two churches in the country.  

In his statement Prince Zeid condemned the attacks but also warned that "a state of emergency, the massive numbers of detentions, reports of torture, and continued arbitrary arrests - all of this we believe facilitates radicalization in prisons."

National Security "must be a priority for every country, but again not at the expense of human rights," he added.

Soon after Prince Zeid made his comments, Egypt responded through its Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Ahmed Abu Zeid.

In a statement, Abu Zeid lashed out at the remarks, calling them an "irresponsible" and "disgraceful" interpretation of the situation in Egypt.

"We don't see the High Commissioner criticizing other states implementing states of emergency under similar conditions," he said.