As President Al-Sisi prepares to take another term in office, international organizations are seeing one of the most severe crackdowns on political dissidents and journalists in Egypt since Al-Sisi first took office. The Project on Middle Eastern Democracy (POMED) released a fact sheet detailing the high-profile arrests of human rights lawyers and journalists, including World Youth Movement’s essay contest winner Ismail Al-Iskandrani. POMED warns that the arrest of prominent democracy advocates previously left alone by the regime signals Al-Sisi’s intention to further transform Egypt from an environment that “limits independent political space” to one that “wants to eliminate it entirely.”
Responding to the recent developments, the European Union External Action (EEAS) office released a statement noting that “sustainable stability and security can only go hand in hand with the full respect of human rights and fundamentals freedoms . . .[and] those standing for fundamental rights and democracy should not be fearing reprisals.” Learn more about POMED’s advocacy efforts here.