Image from The Economist
Three years after widespread protests broke out in Tahrir Square, Egyptians are still subject to the whims of an increasingly totalitarian government.
As part of the Arab Spring uprising, citizens of Egypt took part in massive demonstrations in 2011 that resulted in the military ousting then President Hosni Mubarak.
His replacement, Mohammad Morsi, was soon subject to the same treatment after consistently breaching the constitutional rights of Egyptians.
In the summer of 2013, Adly Monsour assumed the title of Egypt’s President. With his current track record of persecuting journalists, minorities and political dissidents, he could very well find himself the target of yet another coup d’état in Egypt.
Recently, four Egyptian men were sentenced to eight years in prison for committing homosexual acts, according to a report by the BBC.
Human rights groups around the world argue that this is yet another example of how the government in Egypt is gradually eradicating civil liberties.
Just a day earlier, Egyptian courts sustained a ruling that put three men in prison for several years for protesting the government.
Ahmed Maher, Ahmed Douma and Mohammad Adel were arrested on charges of perpetrating an illegal protest. The three men had organized protests under both the Mubarak regime and the current government, leading to their arrest.
The legal backing for doing so is a new law stating that any group larger than ten must be granted permission to host a public demonstration.
While government officials affirm that this law supposed to protect protestors, opponents argue that it is even more oppressive than the actions of former Pres Mubarak.
In yet another example of the degradation of personal freedoms in the troubled African nation, eight journalists have been detained and three of them have been sentenced to years in prison on charges of publishing false news and aiding a terrorist organization.
The charges are widely regarded as ludicrous by human rights advocacy groups and international media outlets alike.
Pres Monsour has shown a strong pattern of civil rights abuses and strong-armed crackdowns on political dissent. As his belligerence in doing so has only grown, it seems logical that he will become exponentially more authoritarian the longer he is in power.
Given the Egyptian citizenry’s storied and recent history of amassing en force to overthrow oppressive rulers, it is very likely that if Pres Monsour continues on this path, he will soon be looking out upon scores of angry and violent protestors that will bring about the ousting of yet another president.
