Under pressure, Egypt releases figures of protest
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi at Unesco headquarters in Paris, November 12, 2021. AFP - JULIEN DE ROSA
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Activist Ramy Shaath was released on Saturday after two and a half years in an Egyptian prison and other protest figures have been able to regain their freedom in recent weeks, in a country regularly criticized for its repression of all forms of protest.
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Egyptian activists Ramy Kamel,
Ramy Shaath
, Sanaa Seif and Patrick Zaki have been released from prison in recent weeks, as has
Ola al-Qardaoui
, the daughter of the famous Muslim Brotherhood preacher.
For Hasni Abidi, a specialist in the region, President al-Sisi wants to show that he hears the demands of his Western allies.
"
He has been under very significant international pressure since the arrival of Joe Biden,
" he recalls.
It should be remembered that around 10% of very substantial
American aid
is interrupted and cut.
And several US officials have criticized the human rights situation in Egypt.
Not disguised criticism, but public criticism.
"
Tens of thousands of political prisoners
But for Alain Gresh, founder of the
Orient XXI
website , these gestures should not mask the reality of the repression in Egypt.
"
It must be seen that it is a drop of water in the tens of thousands of political prisoners that there are in Egypt, who live in appalling conditions, who have been condemned by a judicial system which is completely under orders, who at times have not even been convicted and who are in prison
, ”he underlines.
Figure of the Egyptian revolution of 2011, Alaa Abel Fattah was sentenced last month to five years in prison by a special court for "
spreading false news
".
►
See also: Egypt: the Muslim Brotherhood decimated by repression, ten years after the Arab Spring
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Egypt
Abdel Fattah al-Sissi
Human rights