In the Memory of January 25, 2011 Revolution; Will Sisi Suffer From a Revolution?

11 years have passed since the January 25 revolution in 2011 in Egypt, a revolution described by many, including former US president Barack Obama, as one of the noblest and most heroic acts in the history of Modern Egypt.

But looking at Egypt’s situation now, the drastic conditions of living and the abuse of human rights exceed those of 2011, alerting the Egyptian streets that it may explode in any second.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is aware of this threat, he misses no occasion but launching a fierce attack on the January 25 revolution, describing it as a conspiracy that almost destroyed Egypt, making it similar to Syria, Iraq, and Libya.

Not only that, but he reiterates that it is the cause of the economic and political decline and the regional decline in Egypt's standing.

Opposition Liquidation

Sisi’s regime has carried out several massacres against peaceful protesters, killing more than 2000 civilians in a few days in August 2013, issuing a string of draconian legislation and filling Egyptian prisons beyond capacity.

All oppositional media networks have been closed, rather he bought all of the media and TV outlets, creating a massive media empire led by his security wings and creating an effective propaganda system that calls only for the regime’s singular narrative, and used the judiciary as a “tool of repression."

“All political opposition has been eliminated: the Muslim Brotherhood has been driven underground, serious political organizations have been banned, and would-be challengers to Sisi have been intimidated and arrested,” Middle East Eye [MEE] reported.

Sisi’s assault on basic human rights prompted Amnesty International to describe Egypt as an “open-air prison."

Hosni Mubarak’s oppression didn’t reach that degree of repressing anyone anywhere anytime, the Egyptian street now is filled with both fear and anger.

Human Rights Abuses

One of the most important incidents before the January revolution was the abuse of power exercised by police forces in the police state of former president Hosni Mubarak.

Several videos in 2011were leaked from police stations and circulated on social media showing the torture of civilians by police officers.

One of the most infamous cases was the case of Khaled Said, an Egyptian teenager who died in a police station due to severe torture. Said’s case was widely circulated and sparked anger among youth and activists.

An identical case emerged on January 24, 2022, when The Guardian newspaper obtained a video showing Egyptian police torturing detainees in a Cairo police station.

“The video confirms the extent to which officers appear able to inflict violence on civilians with near total impunity, according to human rights groups,” The Guardian said.

Freedom Status

In January 2022, Sisi summarized his view on political freedom in his speech in the World Youth Forum.

"Are you willing to give me money to spend on Egyptians while they are protesting?" he said.

"Give me $50bn, not $20bn, and I’ll ask Egyptians to hit the streets…[I’ll do it] if this is going to make you feel as though we have true freedom of expression [in Egypt].” 

“After making this point, Sisi posited that he was tasked with leading Egypt forward, ‘not toward destruction.’ The implication was clear: protests and freedoms would lead to Egypt’s political, social and economic ‘destruction,’” MEE commented.

In March 2021, the Academic Freedom Index (the product of a collaborative effort by researchers at Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany, the V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, the World Institute of Public Policy in Berlin, and the Researchers at Risk network at New York University) released its annual report in March 2021.

The report, co-authored by 2,000 experts and academics from around the world to assess the level of academic freedom in 175 countries around the world, placed Egypt in category E, the lowest category compared to the higher categories starting with (A) that refer to those countries with very good academic freedom, ending at the fifth and final category (E), which means very low levels of academic freedoms in those countries.

This freedom repression came at the cost of very harsh economic reforms leading to a sky-rocket increase of prices.

According to Mostafa Al-Khediry, Head of the Egyptian Center for Media and Public Opinion Studies Integration of Egypt, “After nine years of Sisi's rule, we can clearly say that the general came to implement the neoliberal and brutal agenda with military cover.”

“Regarding the Egyptian street satisfaction with its economic program, the overall satisfaction rate with Sisi's monetary policies, which include exchange rates, withdrawal policies, bank deposits and remittances, was about 48% of Egyptians dealing with banks, while the satisfaction rate for new import and export laws was 29% of Egyptians working in the field of import and export, and the satisfaction rate for construction policies and the real estate market was 19% of Egyptians working in the field of contracting and real estate,” he noted.

“The revolution is now closer than any time before,” he said in optimism.