Amnesty says 19 rights activists, lawyers arrested in Egypt

CAIRO – Amnesty International says Egyptian authorities have arrested 19 rights lawyers and activists, including eight women, as part of the country’s ongoing crackdown on civil society.

The London-based advocacy group says in a Thursday statement that the arrests were made in house raids that began in the early hours.

It says those arrested included 60-year-old rights lawyer Hoda Abdel-Monaim.

Amnesty says the latest “chilling” wave of arrests demonstrate the ruthless determination of Egyptian authorities to “crush all activism and dismantle the human rights movement in the country.”

Egypt has since 2013 jailed thousands of supporters of an Islamist president ousted by the military along with many of the top activists behind a popular 2011 uprising.

The government says its priority is security and reviving the country’s battered economy.