Ruth Michaelson: Egyptian forces fire teargas on anti-government protesters

By Dilip -
Hundreds of Egyptians took to the streets in Cairo and other cities in rare protests against the country’s president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, responding to an online call for a demonstration against government corruption. Videos shared on social media showed protesters in central Cairo as well as the port cities of Alexandria and Suez, demanding that Sisi leave office. Protests also occurred in the towns of Damietta, Damanhur and Mahalla.

Demonstrations are all but illegal in Egypt after a broad crackdown on dissent under Sisi, who seized power following the overthrow of former president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Sisi’s rule has been marked by the repression of political opposition, civil society and any perceived criticism. Those taking to the streets risked arrest as well as the lingering threat of force by the Egyptian authorities.

Security forces moved to disperse the small and scattered crowds in Cairo late on Friday using teargas but many young people stayed on the streets in the centre of the capital. At least 55 people were arrested on the charge of demonstrating without permission, according to one local media outlet citing Egypt’s ministry of the interior. The Cairo-based Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights recorded at least 56 arrests in Cairo and outside of the capital. The number of those arrested is expected to rise....
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/21/egyptians-shout-leave-sisi-in-rare-protests-against-president

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