Egypt's Sisi threatens tough crackdown against Monday's anti-government protests

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his interior minister warned on the eve of planned anti-government demonstrations that security forces would deal firmly with protesters.

"I see there are people calling once again for damage to (Egypt's) security and stability," Sisi, who has ruled the country with an iron fist and cracked down on all dissent, said in a televised speech on Sunday.

"Our responsibility is to protect security and stability, and I promise Egyptians that no one will terrorise them again," he said.

Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar said in a statement, "the nation's security and stability... constitute a red line and no attempt to damage them will be tolerated".

"Security services... will confront with extreme rigour any attempt to disturb public order."

In defiance of a ban on unauthorised demonstrations, secular and leftist activists have called for an anti-government protest on Monday, a holiday to mark the 34th anniversary of Israel returning the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in 1982.

On Thursday, Egyptian security services launched multiple raids on coffee shops across Cairo, arresting dozens of activists who have been calling for the 25 April protests.

I see there are people calling once again for damage to (Egypt's) security and stability. - Abdel Fattah al-Sisi

The raids came hours after the Egyptian presidency denied reports that Sisi had met with security chiefs and complained about their leniency in dealing with demonstrations held last week, when thousands of angry Egyptians took to the streets to protest a recent deal to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.

'Pattern of abuse'

Rights groups say Egyptian security services have carried out abuses against protesters and dissidents that spiked after the military overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

On Thursday, a Human Rights Watch report accused Egyptian police of detaining and torturing 20 people, including eight children.

The report said six of the detainees told relatives they were suspended by their arms, electrocuted in the genitals and punched.

Since 2014, Human Rights Watch has documented National Security officers' frequent use of enforced disappearance and torture. - HRW

"The arrests fit a wider pattern of abuse and violations by officers of the Interior Ministry's National Security Agency," the report said.

"Since 2014, Human Rights Watch has documented National Security officers' frequent use of enforced disappearance and torture, as well as a failure by prosecutors and judges to investigate these violations when defense lawyers raise them."

An Egyptian police official told AFP that the allegation in the report "was illogical and clearly fabricated."

Human rights concerns

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued on Thursday its Annual Human Rights Report for 2015, listing 30 priority countries where there are concerns about human rights conditions.

The report found that the human rights situation in Egypt "remained poor and continued to deteriorate".

"Although 2015 saw pardons for a small number of prisoners, Egypt continued to detain activists, journalists and protesters," the report said, adding that human rights violations in Egypt include torture, forced disappearances, and prolonged detention with trials.

Egypt also increased restrictions on freedom of expression, as well as the already limited ability of NGOs to register, work and obtain funding, while "a number of prominent human rights defenders were banned from travelling", the report said.

"Improving the current trajectory is fundamental to Egypt's long-term stability," the report concluded.