“”We are at the very least disappointed,” says Ricciardone when asked for his reaction to the detainment of activists during a meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt. “We don’t know all the facts. We know that there are at least two sides to every story. We’ve heard one side. I think its incumbent upon the government not to explain to the United States of America, we’re not owed an explanation, but I think to Egyptians, what the true facts are.”

Ricciardone adds that, if reports of violence by security forces are true, the government should also explain the steps it plans to take in response to the behavior of security forces.

“If the facts are not as portrayed by the opposition, then they should be brought out,” says Ricciardone. “If the facts are even remotely as portrayed by the opposition, then they should also be brought out, and what measures the government will take to respond to those facts should also be explained.”

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“The media has its role to portray the facts, not exaggerate them, not give a small part of the picture,” says Ricciardone, “and that’s true when we’re talking about allegations regarding abuses in Egypt or allegations regarding American policy.”