UN probes allegations of Egypt 'surveillance' at COP27

United Nations officers running security at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt said they are probing allegations of surveillance and misconduct by Egyptian police towards delegates.

Participants at COP27 -- including activists, rights defenders, and civil society groups -- have raised cases of "surveillance" during the summit, which opened on November 6 at Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The UN Department for Safety and Security, which works with Egyptian police to secure the summit, said it had "been made aware of allegations" of violations of the code of conduct and was "investigating these reports."

But Wael Aboulmagd, representative of Egypt's presidency of the COP27 said the allegations were "ludicrous", he told reporters.

"Some people we've been talking to, from the developing world in particular, are tired of these apparently intentional distractions from climate issues," Aboulmagd said.

Claims surfaced after the German delegation hosted an event featuring Sanaa Seif, sister of jailed hunger-striker and pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel Fattah.

Seif was heckled by pro-government attendees at two press conferences, who called her brother a "criminal", not a "political prisoner".

Seven months into a hunger strike, Abdel Fattah escalated his fast to include water on November 6 as world leaders arrived for COP27 to protest the conditions he said he and about 60,000 other political prisoners face in the country.