Egypt’s population density. Credit: Wikiwand
On this thread talking about countries sliding into authoritarianism we can add Egypt. Since 2011, Egypt has been subjected to various political perturbations, from the liberation from Mubarak’s rule to that of President Morsi, removed by the military after protests erupted when, according to Wikipedia, …
Liberal and secular groups walked out of the constituent assembly because they believed that it would impose strict Islamic practices, while Muslim Brotherhood backers threw their support behind Morsi. On 22 November 2012, President Morsi issued a temporary declaration immunising his decrees from challenge and seeking to protect the work of the constituent assembly.
Mansour was then installed, then replaced by ex-military leader el-Sisi. It now appears President el-Sisi and Parliament has little respect for civil society, as reported by Amira Mikhail on Lawfare:
In February 2012, following military-led raiding of several NGOs, judges convicted 43 nonprofit staff and sentenced them to between one and five years in prison. The crimes? Operating without a license and receiving foreign funds. This was the first phase of the “Foreign Funding” Case. In July 2014, the Ministry of Social Solidarity issued an ultimatum to all Egyptian and international nonprofits, ordering them to comply with the 2002 law within 45 days or face dissolution and possible criminal convictions or penalties. By September 2015, 500 nonprofits were closed down by the Ministry.
Even more concerning for the civil society, the government had been concocting a new NGO law that has been widely criticized for retaining all of the problematic provisions of Law 84 of 2002 and also giving the government veto power over nonprofits. With a court order obtained (under what showing is unclear and probably doesn’t matter anyway since the judiciary is not free to act independent of the state), the government would have the ability to close down organizations that it deems to be harmful to national security. The draft also gives the government the ability to monitor and interfere in a nonprofit’s internal governance and restrict its access to funding.
And it was “rubber stamped” by Parliament. Amira’s conclusion?
The repression of Egypt’s civil society is a big problem. Many of these organizations are the reason there is any reliable information about the real state of affairs in Egypt. A lot of what we know about the prolific use of torture, overcrowded prisons, extrajudicial killings, sectarian violence, police brutality, poverty, and the plight of street children is because of these nonprofits (and of course, what’s left of independent journalism in Egypt). It’s not like Egypt’s official mouthpieces would compensate for their loss; its stance has consistently been that “Egypt’s human rights should not have a western approach” or other vague statements denying widespread and systematic violations.
If Egypt’s version of human rights abided by the country’s own criminal procedure laws, its constitution, and its international legal obligations, many critics would not be quietly shaking their heads in dismay at the unabashed lies of the Egyptian government. But those lies are coming at a cost, which thousands of Egyptians—and even some Americans—are paying in hundreds of days in prison, and worse.
Is the motivation to stop communications that paints Egypt in a bad light? It seems to me that these communications motivate aid, and that helps Egypt. Perhaps they don’t realize that. Or perhaps it has something to do with the apparently murderous Muslim Brotherhood, although I’m not sure I can make a plausible case for it.
