Against Repression and Arrests: The Regime Launches a Frenzied Security Campaign

Statement by the Revolutionary Socialists

“Come, accuse us here, and we will defend ourselves… don’t worry, tomorrow is yours.” These were Sisi’s words at the recent economic conference, addressing the youth to affirm the “political breakthrough” he falsely called for to beautify his regime’s image since last April during the Egyptian Family Iftar, an annual gathering during Ramadan.

Since then, we have witnessed the release of hundreds of political detainees from the depths of prisons as a result of Sisi’s promises to open up the political sphere to everyone. However, this number is insignificant compared to the more than 60,000 detainees, according to human rights estimates, who remain in the regime’s prisons. Additionally, there have been further arrest campaigns in recent times. According to various human rights organizations, the number of new detainees in the last six months exceeds the number already released.

Since the launch of the pardon committee and the national dialogue, arrests have continued daily against anyone who dares to criticize the dire economic situation we have reached, question the regime’s policies, or even show solidarity with detainees who remain in custody.

In recent days, the regime has launched an arrest campaign in the streets, conducting random phone searches to fill detention centers with more detainees. It has been noted recently that random stops of passersby in some neighborhoods, especially in Cairo, have led to phone searches and the detention of dozens for hours until a decision is made to either release them or transfer them to their respective police stations. This security frenzy comes from some calls for protests while hosting the climate conference in Sharm El-Sheikh.

The state has released detainees from political parties and movements solely to beautify the regime’s image, especially in front of some countries that criticize the Egyptian regime for its human rights record, with the upcoming climate conference next month. The regime has also launched a superficial national dialogue for the same reason. At the same time, it arrests dozens of other youths unaffiliated with any movements or parties, as well as workers in companies and factories who dared to object to the unfair policies of capital owners, initiating anew the cycle of imprisonment and recycling that has never stopped in the past eight years.

We realize over time that the breakthrough the regime speaks of is nothing but a false mask worn by the repressive authority. These merely simple palliatives neither cure nor lift the oppression imposed on political detainees and prisoners of conscience in Egypt.

Any release of detainees who have fallen under the regime’s oppression, which has wasted their years and lives within its prisons, is worthy of celebration for their return to their families. However, any claim of a breakthrough in the current political scene, amid ongoing arrests and the closure of the public sphere, is nothing but ink on paper until thousands of political detainees are released, enforced disappearances end, and those released are left without repercussions or fear of being targeted again or re-imprisoned.