In a recent development from Washington, the United States is set to withhold $85 million in military aid to Egypt due to Cairo's failure to meet specific conditions imposed by the US government, including the release of political prisoners.

Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, has gone further by urging the Biden administration to withhold an additional $235 million in aid to Egypt. Sources familiar with the situation have indicated that a decision on these funds is imminent.

The State Department responded to Murphy's comments, stating, "We are consulting with Congress as we finalise our actions."

Of the $85 million being withheld, $55 million will be redirected to Taiwan, while the remaining $30 million will go to Lebanon. These details were outlined in a State Department letter to congressional committees regarding foreign military financing.

Notably, the Egyptian embassy in Washington has not issued an immediate response to this development.

Senator Murphy emphasised the importance of this move, saying, "The administration rightly decided to withhold that initial $85 million tied to the release of political prisoners because there's no doubt that there hasn't been sufficient progress." He further urged the administration to withhold the full $320 million until Egypt's human rights and democracy situation improved.

Egypt has faced persistent accusations of widespread human rights abuses under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's leadership, including reports of torture and enforced disappearances.

While Egyptian authorities have taken some steps in recent years to address human rights concerns, critics argue that these measures are largely cosmetic. While some high-profile detainees have been released, new detentions have continued, and restrictions on free speech remain stringent.

For decades, the United States has provided Egypt with approximately $1.3 billion in annual aid for the purchase of US weapons systems and services, primarily stemming from the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. In recent years, Congress has attached human rights conditions to some of this aid.

The $85 million withholding is contingent on Egypt making progress in releasing political prisoners, ensuring detainees receive due process, and preventing harassment of American citizens. These conditions cannot be waived by the executive branch.

The additional $235 million is conditioned on Egypt meeting democracy and human rights requirements, with the possibility of waiver by the executive branch if it's deemed in the US national security interest.

A further loophole allows the $235 million to be provided to Egypt for specific purposes, such as counterterrorism, border security, and nonproliferation programmes.

In the previous year, Washington allowed the full $75 million, contingent on progress regarding political detentions, and permitted an additional $95 million for Egypt under the counterterrorism and security exception. This effectively amounted to a withholding of $130 million, consistent with the previous year.

Seth Binder of the Project on Middle East Democracy rights group acknowledged the significance of the $85 million withholding but cautioned that anything less than previous years' withholdings would signal an unwarranted belief in Egypt's improved rights record, which he views as untrue.