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Nabila Makram, Egypt’s Immigration Minister, made the controversial comments during a meeting with the Egyptian community in Toronto. A loyal advocate of President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi’s authoritarian regime, Ms Makram’s comments have drawn severe criticism from human rights organisations. Her words are the latest in a long line of draconian rhetoric from the Egyptian government.

A video recording captured at the private event shows Ms Makram defending Egypt’s desire to be free of criticism. She said: “We only have one country – Egypt. “Egypt that brings us together and gets us closer together. “No matter where we go, it will remain in our hearts and we cannot bear to hear any negative words about it. “Anyone who speaks against Egypt abroad, what will happen to him? “He will be sliced.” The minister then made an execution gesture with her hand, drawing laughter from the room.

Makram was sworn into the cabinet in 2015

Ms Makram met Theresa May

Former Minister Amr Darrag told Express.co.uk: “The Egyptian government is ruling with an iron fist in Egypt, perusing and prosecuting anyone who expresses opposition views or remotely criticises the regime’s economic and political failures. "Now, they are trying to silence those who live abroad who enjoy the freedom of expression that is denied to their fellow citizens living in Egypt. This is not the first time remarks like this have been made, but it has historically been by pro-government media within Egypt. "It is totally unacceptable for a cabinet minister within government to openly make an official threat against the Egyptian Diaspora. Just like the case of Jamal Khashoggi, this is a message that even if you’re abroad, you cannot speak up. And if you do, you face the gravest of consequences." Her words also drew heavy criticism from the Egyptian Canadian Coalition for Democracy, an activist group advocating democracy and transparency in Egypt. President Ahmed Abdelkader said: “As Egyptian Canadians, we feel threatened for openly criticising the regime's human rights violations and other policies.”

He also labelled the remarks as “scandalous”. The human rights activist then lamented Ms Makram’s ability to threaten Canadian citizens on Canadian soil – adding that he has filed a complaint with the authorities. Ms Makram has since defended her comments, and claimed that her gesture imitating beheading “is not violent”. Mr Abdelkader urged the government to see what happened to Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in a Saudi embassy last year. There are fears that outspoken activists and writers could suffer the same fate at the hands of the Egyptian authorities. Since Mr Sisi came to power, 1,891 death sentences have been passed and 174 people have been executed in Egypt.

Britain have been criticised for not condemning Sisi

Sisi has been accused of mass human rights violations