Several Democratic senators have criticized the Biden administration’s move to send $1.3 billion in military funding to Egypt, citing widespread human rights abuses by the authoritarian government of General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. A portion of the money — less than a quarter — was conditioned on Egypt improving its human rights record. On Thursday, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy wrote, “It’s no secret that Egypt remains a deeply repressive autocratic state, and I see no good reason to ignore that fact by waiving these requirements.”

This comes as press freedom groups are demanding Egyptian authorities drop all charges against four journalists recently detained and held incommunicado. The disappearances of Ashraf Omar, Khaled Mamdouh, Ramadan Gouida and Yasser Abu Al-Ela have sparked fear and trauma among Egyptian journalists. At least two of them have allegedly been tortured.