Erdoğan says EU 'not sincere' after joint Arab summit in Egypt

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan blasted the EU on Tuesday, accusing the bloc of being "insincere" after a summit co-chaired with the Arab League wrapped up in Egypt.

This week’s EU-Arab Summit wrapped up in Cairo without condemning Iran, despite the participation of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), all of whom frequently accuse Tehran of “meddling in their domestic affairs”.

The European Union should end its silence over anti-democratic practices and human rights violations in Egypt, a senior German opposition lawmaker said on Tuesday.

Last week, the Egyptian authorities executed nine young men convicted earlier of assassinating an Egyptian prosecutor-general in 2015 in car bombing targeting his convoy.

Amnesty International said the men were convicted on terrorism charges after "grossly unfair trials" marred by alleged torture.

The death sentences were carried out despite calls by numerous international rights groups for a stay of execution.

Earlier this month, the Egyptian authorities executed another six people in two separate cases for the murder of a judge’s son and a senior police officer.

Egypt has remained beset by violence and turmoil since the army deposed Mohamed Morsi, the country's first freely elected president, in a 2013 coup.