In a recent report, Amnesty International described Egypt as an open-air prison, saying that “The crackdown on freedom of expression under Egyptian President Abdelfattah al-Sisi has reached its worst ever level in recent memory with its unprecedented severity.”
Amnesty International added that “It is currently more dangerous to criticize the government in Egypt than at any time in the country’s recent history. Egyptians living under President al-Sisi are treated as criminals simply for peacefully expressing their views. The security services have been unrelenting in their closure of any remaining political or social or even cultural independent spaces. These measures have turned Egypt into an open-air prison for critics.Over the course of 2018, Egyptian authorities have arrested at least 111 individuals for absurd reasons, including satire, tweeting, supporting football clubs denouncing sexual harassment, editing movies, doing interviews, giving interviews, and even for doing nothing. The authorities are accusing them of “membership in terrorist groups” and of “disseminating false news”. The authorities have been keeping them detained without trial for months, and for those who faced trial, they were sentenced by a military court.” full report is here.