CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's foreign minister says he rejects "tutelage" over human rights from other countries, in response to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's recent comments on the "deterioration" of Egypt's human rights situation.

The state-run MENA news agency cites Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry as saying Saturday that human rights are a domestic concern and the responsibility of the Egyptian government.

Kerry said Friday that the reopening of an investigation into non-governmental rights groups comes amid "a wider backdrop of arrests and intimidation of political opposition, journalists, civil society activists and cultural figures."

MENA reported on Thursday that a judicial commission has ordered the assets of four people frozen as they are being investigated for illegally receiving funds from abroad. They include investigative journalist Hossam Bahgat and top rights advocate Gamal Eid.