President Trump praised Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during a meeting at the White House Monday, saying the two leaders “agree on so many things.”

President Donald Trump: “It’s great to be with the president of Egypt. And I will tell you, President el-Sisi has been somebody that’s been very close to me from the first time I met him. We agree on so many things. I just want to let everybody know, in case there was any doubt, that we are very much behind President el-Sisi. He’s done a fantastic job in a very difficult situation.”

Human rights organizations say Sisi and his security forces have arrested tens of thousands of Egyptians and have committed torture, forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. Protesters gathered near the White House Monday to protest the meeting, holding signs calling Sisi a “war criminal.”