Sisi is afraid and is silencing the press

At the end of 2010, less than four months before the start of the Arab Spring, thousands of Egyptians began taking to the streets to protest against the regime. Persistent rumours regarding the succession of Hosni Mubarak, the then dictator in Cairo, suggested that his son Gamal was set to take his place – a prospect that young Egyptians viewed as worse than having Hosni in power. What followed was a period of instability: cries of “bread, freedom and social justice” were followed by military intervention, then the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood, until the 2013 coup, when Abdel Fattah al-Sisi seized power. Fifteen years on, Sisi has learnt that the handover of power is the most delicate moment for any dictator. Last week he announced that he would not stand for re-election in 2030, but he also indicated where his successor should be sought: within the Armed Forces.

Meanwhile, Sisi has launched an unprecedented crackdown on press freedom. First to be targeted was the investigative website Matsadaash, accused of having links to the Muslim Brotherhood and shut down following the arrest of all six members of its editorial team. Next was Mada Masr, the last remaining independent news website in Egypt. Mada Masr had long been inaccessible within the country, though it remained accessible from abroad. Until Tuesday, when it was shut down, fined and its editor-in-chief, Lina Attalah, was arrested for several hours before being released. Whilst in custody, Attalah also discovered that she had already been sentenced to one year’s imprisonment in 2024 in proceedings initiated without her knowledge. The web that is unfolding in Egypt – comprising the wave of censorship and arrests, rumours about Sisi’s succession that are expected to cement the military establishment’s power, and the country’s enormous economic difficulties – paints a picture of a nation where democratic spaces have vanished. Sisi fears for himself and for those who support him – the army – and knows that, to survive, he must lay waste to civil society. The process that began in 2013 has now reached its conclusion.