Protesting Dictatorship

Today’s marches were special. I joined the Shubra march which was the biggest march I’ve ever been to. I could not see the beginning or the end of it.  Surpassing January 28th? Perhaps, but that’s not the main issue. It has been ages since the protests have been that unified. We all denounce the constitutional declaration set forth by Morsi which gives him dictatorial powers over the nation. We will not agree what should happen next but we’re in agreement on what shouldn’t happen next.

Tahrir square 27 November 2012

The constitutional declaration is an insult to people’s intelligence. Morsi underestimated how people may forgive for a while but not forget. They were not swayed by retrials of former regime members, we’ve lived through two years of that and it was not fruitful. They were not swayed by promise to help martyrs’ families, the police were creating new ones with their brutality as he spoke those words.

This is the first time we’ve had mass marches in the evening. The square was full on a work day and people went to march right after work on a Tuesday. This is the first time we’ve welcomed some of the former regime supporters.

Having former regime supporters seemed like a cop-out to some, but it’s truly a triumph for the revolution. The former regime supporters, referred to as felool, have chosen the one way of protest they’ve most criticized. We organized the protests. We chant in the protests, we chant against Mubarak’s regime, we chant against the police thugs and we chant against Mohamed Morsi. This is our revolution; the same demands for a different tyrant.

Supporters of the former regime are called felool but that is not an accurate description. They are felool supporters because they support the symbols of the old regime. The fact of the matter is that those who support injustices have been called felool and so by that rationale, Morsi supporters are the new felool.

We have called on justice for all Egyptians, the former regime supporters are part of the nation. We must lead with our ideals as we have always done. We must draw them nearer to us. They must understand that we do not deserve to be tortured in police stations, or killed during protests. They must understand that our way of protesting and clinging on to calls for justice is what they must embrace.

Their beloved army and police won’t help them with this. They need to learn how to stand up together with us for what’s right. Our numbers are great now and it’s no sin to change your mind. They have changed theirs. Even the bystanders on the sides of the street using their cell phones to record our protests, they are supporting us now instead of cursing us like they used to.

Things are turning around a little, we are uniting. The Brotherhood is lying frantically trying to spin things around, but we are not fooled. Protesters were overjoyed at finding one another, finding that many people who share their rejection or a fascist state.

Morsi’s attempts at destroying the revolution are not without resistance. The revolutionary demands have been bread, freedom and social justice. Prices are soaring, freedom is being constrained by the constitution being written and by his dictatorial power grab and at the same time social justice cannot be achieved with neo liberal policies that mirror his predecessor. The IMF loan conditions will not benefit the poor. The revolution called for democracy and power sharing. How can dictatorship be interpreted as democracy even if it is just temporary?

Part of the reason we protested against Mubarak was because of having too much power. Those supporting Morsi are the new felool .They are supporting the making of tyrant. Ikhwan members have no opinion of their own, they're brought up in a culture of blind obedience. They went out to support Morsi's decisions before they even knew what they were. We on the other hand are free.

A good portion of those protesting Morsi today gave him their votes and were willing to give him a chance provided he fulfilled his promises. He broke all of his promises and has shown no willingness to share power.  He hasn’t even considered backing down despite the overwhelming objections to his decrees.

Morsi is controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood who takes all the decisions for him, with al-Shater's leadership. We don't have an independent president who can take a decision as to what's best for his people. He has called on the Brotherhood to support his decisions because he could not trust people to support such a dictatorial power grab.

We will continue to protest tyranny and dictatorship. We cannot trust the intentions or those unwilling to listen or compromise. A man who is willing to declare himself a temporary dictator will be willing to declare himself a permanent one.

Police Brutality Under Morsi

This is a strong drive from the police and once again they engage in brutality. I was present at the time on Sheikh Rihan, perpendicular to Kasr Al Ainy where the main attack took place. They fired a few tear gas canisters down that road in the direction of the church where a makeshift hospital has been set up.

The problem is that brutality has been so ingrained within police mentality and there is nothing being done to address this. We do not know why police charged. They persist to be brutal and that is the manner in which  Morsi wants them to remain. More and more evidence that the replacement of the general prosecutor was not reform but a move to help eliminate enemies of the state, Morsi's state or to be more accurate, the Muslim Brotherhood.

Attacks continue outside Omar Makram Mosque

Notice how one of theirs is in civilian clothes and has a gun

Egypt Independent reports on photo journalist being brutalized by police.

Morsi’s Decrees Leave No Room for Confusion

Morsi's decrees are not confusing at all. It's a power grab and any suggestion they’re to fix corruption is ill informed. Here's why. With all these powers, Morsi could have stopped police brutality on Mohmamed Mahmoud instantly and yet continues to push the rhetoric that the protesters there are hired thugs. Even if he believed that to be true, police needs reform and that is the one thing everyone is certain of. The absence of police reform indicates taking over the police in its current form which serves corrupt political leadership irrespective of the law.

The same holds true for judiciary reform, because even with the general prosecutor changed, it does not guarantee that judiciary will be fair or independent. Many of the verdicts will continue to be politically driven but more likely to benefit the current regime. Bear in mind that the new public prosecutor is related to Ahmed Mekky, the minister of justice who has already shown bias towards the Brotherhood’s plans of maintaining the status quo.

The general prosecutor himself being hired by the president will be loyal to the president, and if he is not, he can face charges as soon as the president replaces him. Removing the corrupt Abdel Meguid Mahmoud removed a corrupt man and entrenched a corrupt system.

Reality is that the fixing corruption is an excuse for those who do not want to believe that Morsi granting himself absolute powers is the first step of a complete takeover of the state. The most evident sign will be never putting Tantawi or Anan on real trial.

Injustice Prevails: Why the Mohamed Mahmoud Clashes Continue

Two days ago, protesters took to the street commemorating the anniversary of the 2011 Mohamed Mahmoud Clashes, one of the bloodiest confrontations with the police in Egypt’s transitional phase, leaving over 50 dead. Today, Mohamed Mahmoud Street looks almost the same as it did exactly one year ago, with similar altercations taking place. Protesters are clashing again with police in downtown Cairo due to a long history of injustice. The police are thugs in uniform and nothing has been done to reform the police, despite claims to the contrary.

The Central Security Forces (CSF) uniform is associated with criminal activities. At the same time, the president and the prime minister are sending clear messages to the police, the military and to us that those in uniform can act with impunity and they won't be brought to justice. This is a monumental confession from those responsible for upholding the law, and that's why it makes no bit of difference if we wait for parliament, the constitution or Godot, because those who are supposed to uphold the law have promised criminals they won't be brought to justice. At a time when injustice prevails, everything turns upside down. Islamists who once sounded like revolutionaries sound like feloul¹  today, and feloul who were once reactionary sound like revolutionaries. Not only do Islamists sound like Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic Party (NDP), they say the exact same things with the exact same reasoning.

One example is someone who protested against Mubarak but had this to say about the clashes in Mohamed Mahmoud: “Frankly, I won't be sympathetic with anyone who is killed while attacking police forces around the Ministry of Interior.”

Other than not being sympathetic to victims of needless police violence, one need only look at a map of downtown Cairo to understand that the clashes are not in the vicinity of the Ministry of Interior. But it is pointless explaining because that’s exactly what we told Mubarak’s supporters when they accused protesters of trying to storm the Ministry of Interior.

Others argue what is the point? What is there to be achieved from these clashes? There are no clear demands. Simply put, the clashes are a response to injustice and a way for people to deal with loss. That aside, the argument fails on another level. There was little point in reaching Tahrir on 25 January other than exercising our freedom. There was little point in taking down the police on 28 January other than protesting their brutality. People have expressed their sentiments without particular goals. That Mubarak stepped down is all well and good, but it wasn’t a result of planning, strategy or clear demands. The revolution never found justice and never found leadership. The arm chair pundits criticizing the clashes and people’s reactions don’t have a plan, not one that people want to follow anyway.

Clashes with the police must always be put into context. The Egyptian army killed Egyptians and betrayed their pledge to protect them and the constitution. The police betrayed their oath to uphold the law. Even with their uniforms, the police can be considered a criminal organization because they do not adhere to  the rule of law.

There is an argument that not all cops have broken the law and so they can’t all be held accountable for the mistakes of their fellow officers,  but it is senseless because they have not done their duty of bringing their criminal colleagues to justice. The same goes for the army. Those who have done nothing to prevent their fellow officers from killing Egyptians also broke their pledge. The argument of innocence does not hold particularly for the police and the army.

Understanding that the police and the army are complicit either through direct criminal offenses or inaction and dereliction of duties, the clashes make sense. In light of clear message by officials that they have no intention to reform the security sector, but rather are calling for a return to draconian laws, protesters  are vindicated when they conclude that an attack on them is justified.

Perhaps that sounds extreme. Perhaps what I’ve witnessed of injustices has lead me to this conclusion, but if you examine the situation closely without the dogmatic notions about the police and government, you’ll realize that we’re in a situation akin to occupation. The police falls far off the mark from what it should be and so does the government. Our situation is extreme, not this conclusion.  We are treated as expendable because we are not in uniform, because we don’t possess the guns, because we cannot give orders to those with the uniforms and the guns.

Is it at all logical to respect lawless tyrants just because they are in uniform? Just because an oppressive government tells you to? To me it isn’t logical and yet people do it every day.  Some are unable to accept that the world is a jungle and that they’re imprisoned. Some are unable to accept they’re worth nothing to their rulers. Some are unable to accept that those they support would allow this to happen.

The most important fact in all of this is that injustice prevails. Uniformed men are constantly promised impunity. We’ve seen reconciliations with thieves, while revolutionaries thrown in prison. We’ve seen friends fall and die, and their murderers promoted. We’ve seen the dead called thugs by opportunistic political forces as they honor the military commanders who ordered the massacres. I cannot blame someone who lost a friend, a brother, a father, for going up against them. I cannot blame someone who is moved by these injustices.  We’ve been patient long enough to know that justice in Egypt does not come through the courts or judiciary. We still don’t know what it takes to bring about justice and that’s why protesters clash, and that’s why they’ll continue to clash.

First published on EgyptSource on November 21, 2012

Another Lawless Night

On the way home late at at night, we saw a man being brutally beaten, tortured and humiliated in plain view by another. This was one night ago late Friday night or the early hours of Saturday. It was on  Tahrir street, right next to the Misr petrol station off Galaa square. It was right near the Sheraton and opposite Faisal Islamic Bank.

Regime Accessories - Graffiti in Zamalek

I was walking home with my friends from Zamalek to my house when we saw a man, his hands disproportionately larger than his body, with a knife in his hand corner another man against a wall and pound on him with the back of the knife, beat him and humiliate him. The scene was surreal, in the middle of a main street, right next to a busy gas station late at night, in plain view of the bank guards opposite the street.

My friends wanted to interfere. I didn’t know what it was about and so I thought I’d try finding some policemen. I knew that one of the ministers of interior that have served lived around the corner, so I went to the entrance. It wasn’t as full of police personnel, I think it’s because he was no longer serving, nevertheless, I saw a man with a machine gun at the gate and I asked him, “Isn’t this where the minister of interior lives?”

He said, “What is it?”

I said, “Two guys are fighting on the street around the corner, and one of them has a knife.”

He said, “So what, there are 90 million people in Egypt, so what if they’re fighting?”

I said, “So you won’t send someone round?”

He replied, “Dokki police station is right over there, you should go report it to them.”

I said, “I guess they’ll be just like you and probably won’t do anything.”

As I started to leave, I turned to him and said, “All that matters is that the pacha up there is doing okay and is well protected.”

We left back to the street and saw that the scene hadn’t changed. No police car had passed by, and people around the fighting men were sitting idly. I called 122, the police, knowing full well they would do nothing. I told them I had been to the house of the ex minister of interior and they told me they’d do nothing, and I told him I know them on the phone I knew they wouldn’t send anyone out but I reported the situation. He asked for my name and asked if this was my number, and I said yes.

We waited and watched and filmed a little and then I decided that the police station was just a minute’s walk away and that it would be better to tell someone than not at all.

I walked with my friends and explained the situation at the gate. “There are two men fighting on the street right next to the gas station, actually it’s one of them beating the other up and he’s armed.”

“Do you mean the two scruffy looking guys?” one of them said.

I said, “Yes.”

“You should go in take a left and then go down the stairs,” he said.

“What for? I know that no one will do anything about it,” I responded.

Another one laughed and said, “This man is being very honest, he knows what he’s talking about.”

I responded and said, “That’s right, if this was someone in government or someone who owned a factory you’d be moving to serve them. You only serve power.”

A third looked at me and said, “What you talking to me for?”

I pointed to his car and said, “Look, you have a patrol car.”

He said, “But this is not my block.”

I turned away frustrated and walked back to the main street. Still that man was beating the other, doing some kicks and pretty much humiliating him.

Just as I was about to forget about it, I thought I’d do all I can do and go in and report it inside the police station as advised. I walked in and found the young men in their white shiny uniforms. I said that I had reported this before and I explained the situation. They wanted to send me off but then decided that someone was already on their way.

Shami who was with me said, “The man could be dead by now.”

The officers smiled and said, “Don’t worry. Even if he dies, we’re the ones that will have to clean up after. We’ll get them.”

Shami, Tariq and I were surprised by the answer. But was I really? People meant nothing to them.

“But if one of you goes there, you’d be able to solve it straight away, it’s just outside the station.”

“Our duty is not to leave the station, don’t worry, someone is on his way already.”

So we left the police station. As we walked past we contemplated whether we should interfere or not. As we walked of Tarek said, “We should have told them that two people were kissing on the street, maybe then they would have moved.”

We laughed for a few seconds and then realized how sad it was he was right.

I was sickened, but I realized I wasn’t sickened by that one man beating down on the other. I was sickened by the other thugs in uniform who beat down on those that opposed the ruling gang but would not move to save an ordinary citizen’s life. We should have got rid of all those police thugs when we had the chance.

Video shot by Mohamed El Shami

She Taught Me to Love the Moon

She taught me to love the moon. Every time I look up to the sky and admire its beauty I think of her. But how can I enjoy such beauty on my own? The moon was beautiful because of her. I urge myself not to contact her in attempts to share the beauty. What good will it do to try and share it with her if she doesn't want to anymore. No, I cannot share this happiness and beauty and in a way it ceases to be happiness and beauty.

The beautiful sky outside the city with beautiful formations in the morning clears up at night to paint the night sky with stars. I look up and see the moon shining upon the water and sand, I see each star and feel I’m in a painting. I want her to be here, but  that’s not possible and even if she were here, she wouldn't be. If only you could be here for this beauty, but would you find it beautiful too with me now? She has decided to share the beauty with someone else. I will not be the one she wants to point this too as she smiles and sighs.

I open my eyes wider to observe the scene around me. The simple huts and the hammocks around, all immersed in a dark blue color that I have not seen in any painting or photo. I want to capture it but I know others have tried and the paintings and photos do not do it justice. The sea and the sky melt into one dark blue color as soon as the distant land and ships disappear. I cannot capture this image with its deep colors flooding my eyes and that’s why I open them wide, to take the moment in, knowing it is fleeting, just like my time with her. On many nights I did not take it in, and that is what I regret, but I’m grateful that before it was over I enjoyed the moments and took them all in, knowing that they cannot be captured, only remembered.

The moon’s reflection on the surface of the water captivates me. This giant beacon of light overshadowing all other lights changes the color of the water making it look like a pathway to a magical land. The scene looks like a movie set. No. Better than a movie set, all the magic without anything false about it. The water looks as though one could walk on it.

Attempt to capture the moon's reflection on the water

She is the moon reflected on the surface of the water, but the part of the water upon which the moon’s rays are reflected shift depending on where you’re standing on the shore.

Still I cannot but look at nature and think of her. The beauty around me seems incomplete. But that person I want to share it with is not there anymore. There was something real about the whole thing, but it’s not there anymore. Just like a shooting star in the sky, momentary and passing yet beautiful for the brief seconds it may last. There’s no point running to where the shooting star fell or looking for it. It was just like the waves. She was the sea and our time together was like the waves that hit the shore to form a splendid sound, but then the waves were there no more even though the sea remained. She is still there but our waves are not, and I look upon my sea and remember my waves. The sea still moves me because for a brief moment the waves were mine.

Sometimes I want to send these thoughts and more to my waves, the moon’s reflection on the water, but I keep them to myself. I would be sending them to a place worse than nowhere. I would be sending them out to the sea, but they would never find her. It is a sea that I thought was mine but never really was.

The waves are gone and yet every time I look upon the sea I long for them. I must move on and come to terms that there will be no more waves for me, no more waves for me.

She taught me to love the moon; that I cannot unlearn. I have lost the waves, the shooting stars and even the sea, but I’ll always have the moon.  Sometimes I  long for her and sometimes I see her before my eyes but she’s not truly there. I close my eyes then search for the moon. I am comforted when I look upon it for that is the love I have left. But difficult are the days when the moon does not shine across the skies.

Listen to me in the background

The Felool Rhetoric Must End

On October 19, in a march entitled, “Egypt for all Egyptians” one of the men leading the calls interrupted his own chant saying, “We heard that some Felool are joining this day, we declare that they are not welcome and have no place among us.”

Felool is a term which was coined early on in the revolution, used in reference to the corrupt political remnants of the former regime, led by the National Democratic Party (NDP). It has since evolved to include sympathizers of public figures associated with the Mubarak era, including Ahmed Shafik and the military. Old regime figures have struggled to find their place after Mubarak stepped down, and for almost two years now, our fight has been to prevent them from reintegrating them into Egypt's politics.

But when I heard the announcement that they were not welcome at a mass protest, it struck me as off-target. Not only was it apologetic and unnecessary, but looking back at recent events, it wasn't ‘Felool’ who were working against the interests of the Egyptian people by promising to lift subsidies.It wasn’t Felool who sanctioned the arrests and imprisonment of numerous people for the preposterous charge of ‘defaming religion’ - including two children aged nine and ten . It wasn't Felool who responded to chants with violence just a week prior. In fact, many of them have been absent in every way except for the continued rhetoric of blame used in daily discourse, and more notably, in the news about attempts by the current regime to reintegrate them into political life or the ailing economy. That enemy no longer exists or rather has no clout. 

Later that day, reports emerged that Amr Moussa’s political party, al-Motamar, was attacked by protesters, among them members of the April 6 movement. This was an unnecessary attack, particularly since Amr Moussa’s run for presidency did not gain the support of the Felool, who could have used their finances to leverage his candidacy. From a revolutionary perspective, the Felool rhetoric should have ended as soon as Morsi came into office, or at the very latest when Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi and Sami Anan were side-lined. 

Meanwhile, the current regime is determined to extend the offer to reconcile with corrupt figures, a move initiated by the interim Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF). Those who have committed crimes are granted amnesty with many of them honored. The same oppressive measures are still in place, if not arguably worse. People continue to be targeted and imprisoned for their opinions, and conditions for oligarchy and dictatorship are being entrenched in the new constitution currently being drafted. It therefore makes no sense to separate Felool from the current regime. After all, people rejected the old regime for the injustice it propagated rather than individuals who helped carry out the vision. 

That is not to say that what Felool stand for need not be fought vehemently. The police state continues to act with impunity and military personnel who have committed heinous crimes remain not only large, but are protected by Egypt’s current president Mohammed Morsi. Whether oppression is done in the n­ame of secular neoliberalism or under religious pretense, it should not detract us from the underlying reality.

True remnants of the old regime are still in existence in the form of an unreformed oppressive police force, a complicit army and numerous corrupt institutions. However, using a word like Felool to separate these institutions from the Muslim Brotherhood can be counter-productive, particularly that they are now in power.Felool may have been complicit in a corrupt system set up some time ago and have been working within its framework but today, those in power are constructing a new framework, eerily similar to its predecessor. This makes them more accountable and condemnable than their NDP counterparts particularly after people revolted against that form of rule. The Muslim Brotherhood's political party, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and its president seem to be attempting to take over the corrupt institutions set up by the former regime to their advantage rather than reform them. The most recent example is the attempt to replace the General Prosecutor rather than work on legislation to guarantee true judiciary reform.

The fundamental issue with the use of the word Felool is that it detracts from the real fight and the real enemy. The anger directed towards them is more emotional, and does nothing to address genuine risks. There’s a fictitious enemy called Felool that does not truly exist. This fictional existence serves only to protect those in power, just as it protected SCAF from being associated with the Mubarak regime of which they were a part . In continuing to use the term Felool we are deceiving ourselves as to who the real enemy is. Such a term can initiate a witch hunt but we’ll always end up fighting windmills.

First published in Atlantic Council on October 30 2012.

Why Today?

Why today? Of all the days. My eyes are tearing up. I remembered, that's all. I watched the Kazeboon video about Maspero. But it's not the video, it's my memory. It's my realization of the injustice that surrounds me and my inability to overcome it. The only thing I have is to fight, and either prevail sometimes or go down fighting.

Mina Danial

Some tell me that I'll lose, but what choice do I have? Pretend that it's not happening? Pretend that giving a chance to traitors to our cause will bring about the justice we've been fighting for? What proof do I have that justice is attainable through the unjust. I won't put my fight on hold till they prove to be tyrants like the predecessors they pardoned and granted safe exit.

I am unable to fool myself, I know what happened and revisionists are unable to put my mind at ease. I have seen death, I have seen injustice. I have seen opportunists and I have seen those defaming their religion by preaching it. I have seen those insulting their religion by attacking those insulting it. I have seen those sworn to protect us kill us. I have seen the awakening of a people pacified by reformists who want to reform the system so that it serves them instead of its old masters.

How can I move on before we are ready to move on. How can I move on before I see a means to achieving justice. Why am I being told by the blind to follow the blind. I can see and so would they if they open their eyes. How can I accept this? How can I pretend?

Football fans murdered, copts run over, young protesters shot, innocent bystanders brutalized, sons and daughters disposed in the river, parents taken from their children and many more... and you ask me to accept and move on... I can't even if I want to.

Remembering the Maspero Massacre

They're not here anymore, those who marched peacefully a year ago towards Maspero to be murdered by their government and their people. Those who marched to bring their cause to national television are not with us anymore. The media they sought to make their plight turned against them and accused them of murder and incited citizens to kill them. They were shot by their government and trampled on by their military's APCs.  That’s how they died but that’s not what killed them.

Egyptian Christian woman mourns at the Coptic Hospital in Cairo (Mohamed Abd El Ghany/ Reuters)

As a society we have failed them, every one of us collectively, even the innocent of us. We allowed our society’s illness to reach to the point of state sponsored mass murder. I know that many of those who belong to this society can look in the mirror and say it doesn’t apply to me because I never discriminated and I never murdered and I never hated. But failure is not condemnation or blame in this context, it is a result.

Whatever it was we had to do to prevent such a disaster, we did not do. We simply failed. Maybe we didn’t do enough, maybe we’re not strong enough, maybe we’re too blind and filled with the illness ourselves, maybe we’re the cold blooded murders sitting in their air conditioned offices giving the orders. Whatever we did or didn’t do, we bear a responsibility and we bear the failure.

Everyone has failed those who died. Everyone but those who went as far as they possibly could to protest this murder. It seems to me those who were killed have marched on that fatal day to protest not just the mistreatment of those before them but of their own murder. People marching against discrimination were trampled on by discrimination. They’re not here anymore.

I think they drove a point that day, too painful for many of us to confront at times. Was it just one point?

Was it just that hatred runs deep in our society or was it more? Was it that we're still ruled by a regime willing to run over its citizens and anyone who gets in their way. Was it that deep down inside a large cross-section of society truly despises the other, that we're not free to believe in whatever
unprovable ideas we choose? Was it that everyone must subscribe to one set of  improvable ideas approved by those who control us? That our sentiments are dangerous enough to kill?

Last year, I was away on business. In trying to find out what was happening I found that Copts were run over by the army's APCs and shot from an elevated position by cold metal bullets which have as ample feelings as those who issued the command. I went mad; mad from my own impotence, my distance. I collected all the links that reflect the events of the night, the facts, the truth, but none of the links had the most important truth- that it's our ideas and beliefs that can kill or get us killed. There were no links to displays the deep rooted hatred in the hearts of men and their primitive tribalism. There were no links to show that we are viewed as slaves who must toil and suffer so that presidents, generals and businessmen get richer. There were not enough links, not enough links.

This year, I ponder over last year's events from a distance. The truth still largely obscured as churches are destroyed and copts evicted from their homes. The reality of our decline ever more present as 9 year old children are arrested for insulting religion. Can they not see who is truly insulting religion?

The regime might be a tumor we can remove but our own biases and judgements are a cancer. I see today what I saw back then. The same biases and hatred run deep and we’re not doing enough to stop it. We are killing ourselves.

Most of us are responsible even though not everyone can be blamed.

Morsi released 1500 protesters not just because his 100 days are over and he has nothing to show for but to divert attention from the fatal failing of a regime he is supposed to lead. The failing is reflected in the one year memorial of a massacre. One year on and we have not altered our path. The real murders still free, some promoted and some retired honorably. Morsi pledged in his speeches that they wouldn't not be touched, but his supporters are too adamant to listen to what his words actually mean. They mean that the current state of affairs will be maintained. That hatred and impunity will rule, that soldiers and officers can be free to run us over and that injustices to minorities will prevail.

Those in positions of power have not only insulted religions but insulted our humanity. What justice has been served? What message have we been told? We will be trampled on if we ask for justice. But it is better to be trampled on  by this cruel world or to exist without doing anything to stop its injustice?

Morsi’s Habrasha - Slip-up or Disgrace

There’s a significant element of humor in the episode of Morsi adjusting his genitals in three quick moves and I’m sure many had a good laugh about it. It’s no secret that many Egyptians do that sort of adjustment shamelessly in public. In fact it’s common enough that there’s a term for it, “Habrasha”.

My guess is that the move is not acceptable by most standards of civilized society. This is something I’m sure parents tell their kids as a minimum acceptable level of social behaviour: Don’t touch your private parts in public.

The real problem with Morsi’s Habrasha is that he probably knew it was not an acceptable thing to do in public. This I find insulting, not because the move is socially unacceptable, but because he knew he was not supposed to do this but expected to get away with it.

Morsi adjusted his private parts in what he thought was a stealth manner with the façade of adjusting his jacket. He expected to have camouflaged it well. All eyes and cameras were on him and yet he was trying to pull it off. Don’t underestimate the move as just a slip-up; it reflects a prevalent attitude amidst Muslim Brotherhood members. The same attitude can be seen as members of the Brotherhood blatantly lie and expect everyone to believe that the lie they had said was not in fact a lie; that the positions they have taken against the revolution were not in fact against the revolution; that their duplicity was not in fact duplicity.

Morsi is messing with our hopes of democracy, all eyes are on him and yet he continues to take repressive measures adjusting to the interest of his group. He does not care if we’re on to him, he’s camouflaging his attempt with empty words we are asked to believe. There is a total disregard for what we want and what we will accept, and out of sheer habit he will do what he thinks is in the best interest of his group rather than what is expected of him by others.

Morsi was representing a country not just himself. Not touching his private parts was equally expected of him as it was to shake hands with world leaders, women included. He was expected to represent a country and should he desire, play with his privates all he in the privacy of his palace. Yet such small demands he was unable to fulfil either because he was unaware of what is asked for him or simply didn’t care.

Many Egyptians do this in public, so what’s the big deal? The disgraceful part about the whole affair is that we did not need someone to represent Egyptians for who they are today; they’ve been under the rule tyranny, ignorance and oppression for a very long time. We needed someone who can represent Egyptians for what they can be and Morsi falls too far off the mark.

When Reason Fails, Build Another Wall

The subject of walls is well worth commenting on in relation to the events of this past week. A wall has been erected by the military to prevent clashes. Needless to say, walls don’t address problems but defer them and exacerbate them on most occasions. It should be needless to say but it isn’t. Those building walls need to hear it and comprehend it. However, (shocking as it may be) I don’t entirely blame the military for resorting to such an action. Everyone else is doing the same. Everyone has been actively putting up walls.

For commentary to the events themselves, there are several pieces that can be interesting, such as Hani Shukrallah’s opinion piece, Jadaliyya's article or Evan Hill’s analysis, but I’m more interested in walls.

Those protesting have erected the biggest walls. Abu Islam, owner of a TV channel burned a bible while people cheered on and later bragged about it, threatening to piss on it the next time. A protest in Australia has women in veils showing a sign insulting the deceased Egyptian Pope Shenouda III. The protests have taken on a life of their own and extended to numerous Arab countries such as Libya where the American ambassador and his aides were killed,  Lebanon, Sudan and others.

The protests have been building walls that do nothing but exacerbate the situation and push forward the rhetoric that the film aimed at proving. This is not a medieval time where history is re-interpreted, angry Muslims are writing their history now.

But how does one protest hate by hating? How does one protest insulting their religion by insulting another religion? How does one justify violence against those not involved in that singular act? How can some people accept death over a film?

The walls put up by protesters are more dangerous than the military’s but they have a similar effect. Decisions taken by a few and their effects will influence the lives of numerous others. As the select few wreak more havoc, more and more lives are endangered and the walls keep getting higher.

An onset of Islamophobia is to ensue, and why not? There is reason to fear Muslims given the news. A second rate movie caused deaths and destruction.  The majority of Muslims did not react this way, but could this eliminate the fear of the few who would?

The walls being built are becoming insurmountable and I’m not sure what the answer to it is. Tolerance perhaps, but if a group of people cannot tolerate a movie and punish others for what they haven’t done, how can they expected that those who did not partake will not be punished for the wrongdoings of their brethren?

No Reason to Celebrate, It's Just Another Coup

It may be unclear what is happening after Morsi’s ‘decisions’ to shake things up a bit. But one thing we know for sure is that these decisions are anything but revolutionary. The rift within the regime was clear ever since it could not be decided whether to allow Morsi or Shafik to win. There were Tawfik Okasha’s attacks on SCAF after Morsi’s win and the mysterious death of Omar Suleiman, Sinai and the radical changes in military command. These aren’t all signs that would have predicted this move to isolate Tantawi and Anan from power but in hindsight they serve to help us understand what just happened. 

General Assar, America's man

So much of what has been happening has been conducted with much secrecy, that is why all we have today is analysis and speculation. However, it does seem that the likely scenario is a coup to counteract a coup as Hesham Sallam explained:

“Al-Assar, Al-Sisi and others led a coup against Tantawi and Anan in order to preempt a prospective coup attempt that could have gotten the army into uncertain political confrontations—specifically confrontations that could have led the military establishment to lose everything vis-à-vis the MB. Consistent with this theory is the fact that Al-Dostoor newspaper was confiscated yesterday after effectively making a public call for a coup--which suggests that some elements within the SCAF had been prodding their allies inside the media establishment to begin promoting the image of popular support for a coup”

It is clear to me that something was planned for 24 August 2012 and that is what was pre-empted. The Muslim Brotherhood (Morsi) had to have the support of some elements inside the army so as to come out with this decision. The support of the usual regime whores like Mostafa Bakry and Ibrahim Eissa is further proof that we’re not off the mark.

The isolation of Sami Anan is perhaps surprising at first glance, but in hindsight, it seems the only logical thing to do. Anan is a military man by the book which makes it likely that he has huge respect for ranking and would therefore be more likely to side with Tantawi than any of the other junior officers. He is not a popular figure inside the army either. 

The sentiments that could have prompted this action may be similar to what Al Masry Al Youm censored from Robert Springborg’s article in December of last year:

“Many in the military resent the reputation of their institution being abused by the Field Marshal and his 19 colleagues on the SCAF. .. The present rumblings of discontent among junior officers, Chief of Staff General Sami Anan’s greater popularity than the Field Marshal in the military and among Egyptians as a whole, and intensified pressure from the US could all result in the Field Marshal sharing President Mubarak’s fate. The military institution could remove him to save itself. If matters became truly desperate, discontented officers not in SCAF might decide that a coup within the coup would be the best way to save the honor of the country and their institution.”…By seeking to retain power and control over the transition process, the Field Marshal is playing a very dangerous game that threatens both the military’s and the nation’s well-being. He should have another look at that polling data.”

While Springborg expected the move to be made by Anan, it seemed that he overestimated his popularity and his ambition. The opportunity, passed on by Anan, presented itself to the less senior officers who are also willing to play nice with the US.

A revolutionary decision would not be celebrated by state tools. The acceptance of these radical decisions were far too smooth. Remember also that there is no propaganda channel denouncing them and it is possible that the shutting down of Okasha’s channel was purposely done in anticipation of this move. 

The important questions that remain are, what was the Muslim Brotherhood promised in order to give legitimacy to this coup by being a façade to the coup? What will our new authoritarian regime look like? How much power will be shared and what is the threat to the new regime?

I never liked the word old regime because it wasn’t true. Nothing had changed. I’m wondering if we’ll really start to use it. Until we find out more, the important thing to remember is that there’s no reason to celebrate, it’s just another coup.

Nasser: Tyrant by Popular Demand

In memory of a coup that gave unjust individuals dominion over an entire nation.

Those not well versed in the real history of our nation may view Gamal Abdel Nasser as a charming and sincere leader who had a few flaws but was nevertheless trying his best to make Egypt a better nation, trying to endow it with pride and dignity. In a nutshell, Nasser's great achievements can be summarized as the nationalization of the Suez Canal, the building of the high dam and the spreading of notions of social equality and Pan-Arabism. His short comings were allowing his buddies to take over the country, nationalization, expulsion of foreigners, huge military failures, a culture of fear, a police state, torture and dictatorship. This is the sugar coated version provided by his apologists. However, the most prevalent view of Nasser is founded upon propaganda rather than facts. The real history seems to be filled with details contrary to popular myth.

Naguib
One of the most sordid decisions by Nasser was placing Naguib under house arrest for the greater part of his life. Naguib was rumored to have been a passive figure-head that took charge first till Nasser was known. It is common myth that he was chosen for his rank and had no real part in the military coup of 23rd July of 1952. This was something Nasser wanted to propagate so that the isolation of Naguib could be less painstaking to the people's conscience. But it was in fact Naguib who warned the other officers that the coup should take place earlier than their planned date of 5th of August for fear of arrests.

Naguib did not believe that Egypt should continue under military rule without parliamentary life and wanted Egypt to return to civil rule and to become a democracy. Testimonies about Naguib prove him to be a decent man and perhaps that’s why he was to endure a horrible fate. Not even the biggest advocates of Nasser can justify why he treated Naguib horribly, not in a manner that doesn't make Nasser seem evil anyway.

Nasser Apologists
There are numerous explanations that justify the reign of evil under this charismatic leader's rule, they're just logically deficient. One explanation is that Egypt needed this sort of rule at the time. Egypt had always had a political life with some form of democracy. Nasser was responsible for stealthily depriving Egyptians of that for a long time to come. At the hands of Nasser, those who called for democracy met an unfortunate fate. It was not just Naguib but also Nasser's fellow 'free officer' and friend Khaled Mohi El Din who was exiled. There were many others who were eliminated one way or another for challenging the dictatorial rule of the revolutionary council controlled by Nasser.

An implausible explanation which excused Nasser from the atrocious regime we inherited is that he wasn't running the country at all, or wasn't aware of how it was run or that those around him tricked him. But even if it were true, that would make Nasser incompetent yet still accountable. Nasser, however, was a born tactician according to Khaled Mohi El Din, and was aware of everything that went on around him. Nasser personally spied on and listened in on those around him, those he feared, those he was envious of and those he mistrusted. It's true that later on he claimed that the country was ruled by a criminal gang, but he created that gang, and he was at its root and its leader. Nasser knew what he was doing but simply didn't care.

Nasser's Dream
In all likelihood Nasser's dreams were not related to acquiring wealth; he left theft to his gang. His dream was to be in the forefront, shining, glamorous and in the lead. This was evident from the start, from before there was a coup.

According to Naguib, in 1948, Nasser was reported to have been hiding away in his bunker during an important battle in Iraq al-Manshiyya, (a Palestinian town that used to be located 32km northeast of Gaza City). Later when pictures were being taken, he moved forward amidst commanding officers who outranked him displaying from early on his desire for attention. He moved back with his fellow officers when Naguib rebuked him.

Nasser was also accused of staging his own assassination attempt in order to shine. The event took place in Alexandria in Mansheya when a member of Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood) appeared to have tried to shoot him but failed. This may have been staged since he came out unhurt even though he was shot at close range.

This event had a two fold effect, it vilified the Ikhwan and gave Nasser an excuse to eliminate them (even though he had been one of them) and put him under the spot light. It is only after he began to shine that he managed to carry out his plans of forcing out Naguib.

So what's wrong with ambition and desire to lead? Nothing, except that we have to ask ourselves two questions: What means can one use to get there? And what do you do when you get there? Nasser failed on both counts.

According to Khaled Mohi El Din, Nasser paid 4000 L.E to orchestrate protests against democracy. Even before gaining power on January the 8th, 1952, Nasser along with three other officers were involved in an assassination attempt on General Hussein Serry Amer (an officer loyal to the king). After the failed attempt Nasser suffered psychologically.

According to Psychiatrist Mostafa Hussein, "Narcissistic individuals are highly ambitious, have a sense of entitlement (they think they are special) and grandiose. This makes them desire higher positions. They are arrogant and envious of other people and have very low tolerance for criticism. They also have limited empathy."

Does this not fit Nasser perfectly? He got to power through deceit attempting to satisfy his and other officers' greed at whatever cost without empathy for the masses he ruled or those who opposed him.

People have thought Nasser to be a socialist on account of his political leanings and orations. But such a position was only taken when US support became impossible and Egypt had to turn to the Russians.

In his book Memories of a Revolution, Khaled Mohi El Din tells us of an incident showing us a classist Nasser:

As we walked down the stairs after leaving Ahmad Fuad's apartment, Gamal Abd al Nasser, who was still under the spell of that mysterious and well versed person asked, "Who is that Comrade Badr?" … "I mean what did he do before he became secretary general?"
…
I simply said, "A mechanic."
"Mechanic!" exclaimed Nasser. "This means that you could become a member of this party and receive your orders from a mechanic!"
..
The idea of the mechanic stuck in Nasser's mind, and he would often bring it up. Sometimes he would be contemptuous of it and sometimes he would denounce it, even after the revolution. At a meeting at the Revolutionary Command Council he once pointed at me and said, "His leader is a mechanic!"

Nasser's humble beginnings did not enable him to serve the people, on the contrary, it instilled envy within him. Jamal Hammad, one of the Free Officers and author of the revolution's first proclamation, tells us that in an argument with university professors about the democracy, Nasser is quoted to have said, "I don't care about the people I care about the military."

The Fate of the Free
Nasser's Free Officers Movement wasn’t entirely his either; many of the officers were based on a pre-existing group formed by the Muslim brotherhood. The Free Officers were filtered out after gaining power, unfortunately for us it was the wrong filter. Officers who were paramount to the success of the revolution like Mohamed Naguib, Khaled Mohi El Din, Abdel Latif El Baghdady and Yousef Sideeq were displeased by dictatorship and cruelty, and in effect each was sidelined in one way or another. Only the wicked and power-hungry stayed on temporarily till they were eliminated by Nasser. Despite no causalities in the coup, bloodshed was inevitable; they paneled a few death sentences, tortured a few innocents, and fabricated a few charges.

In exchange for glory and power, Nasser gave his friends authority to plunder, torture and control. They amassed great wealth and destroyed many people along the way in the name of nationalization. A prominent example of corrupt power was his close friend and fellow 'free officer' Abdel Hakim Amer who was promoted from Major to General in 1953, skipping four ranks, and made commander and chief of the entire military.

Naguib, Nasser and the Free Officers

Premeditated Defeat
If all this isn't enough to prove that a tyrannical sordid Nasser did exist, perhaps the intricacies of the '67 defeat could offer some insight. Our loss in '67 was almost premeditated by Nasser. He was informed of the attack date of June 5th after having done everything possible to provoke Israeli aggression. Moreover, he asked the military commanders to sustain Israel's first strike; our planes were arranged for Israelis to destroy. We did not even fire defense missiles at the planes that attacked us either because Nasser ordered his troops to stand down or because Amer was in the air at the time.

Speculations as to why we suffered this defeat have circulated. The most noteworthy of which interprets this premeditated defeat as a means for Nasser to gain control exerted by Amer over the army and the country. Nasser's compatriots had become too strong for him to handle and he sacrificed numerous lives to reassert control. Irrespective of how close to reality these speculations are, the fact is that Egypt's army was crushed in what is known as the six day war and much of the blame for needless deaths lie with Nasser.


Big Brother
Egypt in the 1950s started the journey of becoming an Orwellian 1984 with Big Brother watching. This big brother like the one in the novel did not want money, just power. In fact this big brother left little behind in terms of wealth, but managed to leave a fake legacy; a falsification of truth for generations to consume and a country in utter chaos.

Nationalization was a bully's way of giving legitimacy to stealing; the people never gained from it. Equality and respect were corrupted. According to witnesses of the age, the actions taken by Nasser ensured a general deterioration in people's mannerisms. Confidence in the spoken word broke down completely. A clear example of this is when people spoke to stock brokers over the phone asking them to buy shares, the following day, people would find the companies nationalized and would not pay the broker. (Another example was when Nasser nullified bank notes of 50 and 100 LE in one day).  Hence grew mistrust in this and all other fields.

Equality and respect became confused, through Nasser, respect was given only to those who had the power to hurt, and people started to disrespect one another and called it equality.  Today, all that remains is the mutated Animal Farm commandment, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

Nasser remains loved despite all his ugly deeds and unstable psyche of control and power. Those who love him are moved by his charisma and the notion of what he could have become. Today I talk about Nasser's history disapprovingly, but I have the luxury of never having seen him, never having felt what he meant to people at the time nor heard his moving voice. I have the luxury of burrowing through books and memoirs after the facts have surfaced.

The falsified history they teach us makes him a very appealing man. Even some of those he imprisoned and tortured cannot but love him. His charm was undoubtedly exceptional and I have never been able to debate it or doubt it. I cannot blame those who love Nasser, he gave hope, was a leader and managed to control the country and those around him. Those who are fans of complete control should not but love him. I suppose he knew what Egyptians really wanted and managed to give it to them: a tyrant by popular demand.

Retelling Abbasiya- The Most Brutal Military Crackdown Since the Cabinet Attacks

This story was supposed to be published a week or so after the Abbaseya events. Presidential elections that ensued drowned interest in this story and many of the details are lost in disparate news pieces. However, those arrested in the Abbasiya events are still in prison facing military trials, their stories locked up with them. This is an attempt to tell their story. The injustices they continue to face is reason enough to keep telling it. It also does not appear that their situation will change anytime soon, with President Mohamed Morsi echoing the military's rhetoric of labeling them 'thugs' and their release causing chaos. The committee formed does not indicate we're any closer to justice.

Protester during Abbasiya events on Friday
Photo by Mosa'ab El Shami 

What started out as a march of predominantly Salafi protesters at the end of April, ended in the random arrest and torture of numerous Egyptians of all ages protesting military rule

The violent events that took place in Abbasiya district in Cairo were largely misreported in Egyptian media and were subject to controversy. This is an attempt to reconstruct the story prompted by the numerous details that were missed and the overshadowing events of presidential elections.

On the night of Friday, 27 April, a group of Salafi protesters, predominantly Hazem Salah Abu-Ismail supporters started marching to the Ministry of Defence (MOD). They were protesting the disqualification of Abu-Ismail as a presidential candidate. They were also protesting Article 28 of the March 2011 Constitutional Declaration which gives immunity to decisions made by the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC). The resulting sit-in was joined the next day by members of several pro-revolution groups.

The leadup
On the night of Saturday, 28 April, the sit-in was attacked by assailants in civilian clothes using Molotov cocktails and cement bricks. Gunfire was also reported by witnesses. Around 138 protesters were injured and at least one was killed. In response, the number of protesters grew to around 2000, in order to protect the sit-in. Clashes ended Sunday morning. By Monday 30 April, six suspects were to face military trials.

Another major attack ensued on Wednesday, 2 May. The attack was yet again conducted by plain-clothed assailants in civilian clothes and armed with a diverse array of weaponry including shotguns, automatic weapons and tear gas. Residents of Abbasiya district marched to the area's police station to call on the authorities to intervene and end the clashes but authorities refused to respond. At least 11 died and dozens were injured, according to the Ministry of Interior, with numbers reported higher among eyewitnesses.

Friday brutality
On Friday, 4 May, thousands marched on Abbasiya to protest military rule and the continued use of force through hired thugs and plain clothed police personnel. Earlier warnings by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) not to protest near Ministry of Defence were ignored. Protesters were attacked, this time by the military aided by assailants in civilian clothes in the most brutal attack by the military on civilians since the cabinet events in December.

According to Tom Dale, reporting for Egypt Independent, the army initially snatched three demonstrators, and that is when the clashes broke out. Egypt's military police started firing water cannons on protesters at 3:30pm Friday, after which the army started chasing protesters away and the brutality began.

Ahmed Abdel Monem, a project manager in a large systems integrator firm, describes some of the brutality: “There were people in civilian clothes armed with weapons who asked us to put our hands over our heads and then proceeded hitting us all, including elderly men and women.”

Witnesses indicate that the army’s attack was planned and implemented with the intent and brutality of a war battle. The protesters were chased from in front of the MOD along Al Khalifa Al Ma’moun street all the way back till they split up. Some fled towards Salah Salem Street, others to Lotfy El Sayed Street in the direction of Ramsis and the Demerdash metro station and others through the Abbasiya neighbourhood.

Map showing how protesters dispersed after military charge

Raphael Thelen, a German reporter, recalls his experience. “This was the scariest day of my life,” said Thelen. “There were 10 minutes where I didn’t know if I would make it out of there alive or not.”

Those who ran from the charge of the soldiers on Al Khalifa Al Ma’moun street and headed to the Abbasiya neighbourhood thinking it would be safer despite warnings by other protesters. This was not the case.

Thelen explains: “Protesters were dispersed by military police in the street leading up to the MOD with tear gas and I heard gunshots being fired. We went to the road that leads to Ramsis Street but there were army tanks that blocked us. We were caught in the middle. We tried to escape to the Abbasiya neighbourhood but the people there were ready for us holding up knives and guns and some of those ahead of us were pelted with empty glass bottles from the first storey.”

Thelen managed to escape the violence inside the Abbasiya neighbourhood when some women in the area gave him and his company shelter. He was later led  by a one of the residents of the neighbourhood through alleyways and stopped a taxi. As they escaped the scene through on Lotfi El Sayed, Thelen saw the protesters who chose trying to escape by going to the metro station.

“As we pulled away in the Taxi, we saw the military police on the overhead pass that pelting the protesters with rocks,” said Thelen.

Helena Hägglund, a Swedish reporter, was one of those forced to the metro platform. “The APCs came against the normal flow of traffic, from the direction of downtown moving toward MOD. We were far from where the fighting started, on the street next to the metro. They fired at protesters and forced them down a narrow staircase leading up to the metro. Someone pressed my head down to the stairs as they were firing, and the guy behind me got shot by rubber bullet. As we were pushed in that small pathway, my hand was stuck behind my back as crowds were crushing one another, one man rubbed his penis up my hand and because my hand was stuck I couldn’t pull it away. Even in such situations, these things happen."

“When we got into the station the rocks came flying. The military were pelting us with rocks from the outside. After a while the military pelted the platform from the other side too. People got angry cause trains didn't stop; screaming. Then someone told us to run because there was a train stopping. I later learned that it was a man who stopped that train. We got on and escaped,” says Hägglund.

Simon Hanna, a journalist working for Reuters and Ahram Online, confirms that the military police chased protesters to the metro station of Demerdash, pelting the platform and the train with rocks. He was on board one of the trains that was pelted with rocks by military personnel.

Demerdash Metro station attacked by military police

Some 296 protesters were injured and a total of 326 protesters and bystanders were arrested, including 15 women, lawyers and journalists. No deaths were officially reported, but eyewitnesses testimony casts doubt on the official statement..

Farah Heshmat, 32, was at the scene with residents of Abbasiya and saw what appeared to be someone being murdered.

Farah says: “I saw some young people coming from the Demerdash overpass. One of them was wearing army pants and boots but with a t-shirt on top. They were dragging a man who was bald and were hitting him aggressively. When they were five meters from me one of them struck the man with a senga (a machete) to the front of his neck, and another from the back. There was so much blood and he dropped motionless. People celebrated, and then said the army and the people are one hand. I was so horrified but had to smile and pretend to celebrate so that they didn’t suspect I wasn't one of them. I still see this man when I close my eyes. All I saw of him was his bloody beard.”

Farah is engaged to Mahmoud Amin, who was amongst the first to be injured in the January 25 Revolution in 2011 losing one of his eyes. He was among those arrested in the Abbasiya events and has not been released, despite being in need of medical attention.

According to Alaa Farouk, a lawyer with the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), “We do not have a complete list of those arrested. The military police did not disclose the full list, despite being asked to do so by rights lawyers. The injured were taken from military hospitals to military prosecution directly without informing lawyers.”

The partial list disclosed to lawyers indicated random arrests including seven who had mental disabilities, and one with an amputated leg. Also many Ain Shams University students were arrested who had legitimate reason for being in the vicinity of the clashes.

Testimony collected by activists indicates that women were abused verbally and physically, humiliated and threatened. One of the women arrested was a minor and was released the same day. The rest of the women were released the next day.

Continued mistreatment
The next day, 5 May, 11 people protesting the military arrests at Abbasiya were arrested outside the military court. Those arrested were charged with approaching military areas and various other charges.

Ahmed Sabry, 30, is an engineer who was arrested in front of the military court. He recently set up a company making highly ranked mobile applications and is a former employee of Microsoft and IBM. Furthermore, he was part of a team of programmers that created Egypt’s first 3D game.

“I arrived there late and we heard that three or four had been arrested earlier,” Sabry explains. “A formation of military police started chasing after us even though we were on the main street not the side street that has the entrance. I was beaten by the soldiers and at one point there were almost five of them hitting me on the head with their sticks. All my injuries are to my head, but my hands were hurt as well because I was protecting my head. I was taken inside and all soldiers were hitting me along the way.”

“After the official investigation, there was a non-official one. This was really aggressive, at the very end he took a photo of me and said I should learn his face because I will see him again.”

Sabry - who has been released but whose case has not been dismissed - describes some of the many horrors faced by the prisoners. “When we went to prison, they cut everyone’s hair. Everyone had head injuries. Some 45 people were kept in a three by nine metre cell. Some people slept and some people had no space to even sit. We experienced physical and verbal abuse. They didn’t even care for the wounded.”

Farah, distraught over the abuse faced by her fiancé in military prison, called this reporter back to make sure her fiancé’s story gets out. “They hit him on his good eye intentionally. He wasn’t released even though he had brain surgery earlier and was scheduled to perform more crucial surgeries,” she said.

A Human Rights Watch report condemned the military’s involvement in the mistreatment of protesters through beatings and torture. The Human Rights Watch report stated, “The brutal beating of both men and women protesters shows that military officers have no sense of limits on what they can do.”

Sabry confirms the mistreatment and describes further how the military police would use plastic to tie prisoners’ hands and then use a lighter to melt the plastic when they wanted to set them free causing deep burns in the process.

Sabry thinks it may have been personal due to false information being spread about the protesters. “Inside there were a lot of insults, hitting on the back of the neck and verbal abuse and all soldiers were prejudiced against us. They were being told that Israel was about to attack and that we were infiltrators causing instability. They also told us they hadn’t slept for 48 hours because of us. It makes it personal,” says Sabry.

Being locked in prisons randomly, prisoners were unable to vote. Farah says: “Mahmoud Amin was hurt not being able to cast his vote. He sacrificed his eye and his life and he was deprived of this right. There is insistence on keeping him locked in. The people who arrested him were people in civilian clothes. His health is deteriorating. He is unable to walk long distances. Why are they doing this? Maybe for the next president to free the prisoners, will we always be political victims. He has 17 shrapnels in his skull.”

Ahmed Shafiq, a presidential candidate at the time, remarked in a televised interview that the Abbasiya events were a small preview of how the military would deal with anyone opposing his presidency if he is democratically elected.

Those arrested continue to face military trials and activists showing solidarity are subject to military prosecution. Under President Morsi, Mohamed Gahrib was sentenced to three years by the Suez military for expressing solidarity with the Abbasiya detainees. Others have also been sentenced to six months.